My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy than I Expected
by With Death Comes More Death
Summary: Hikigaya Hachiman's second year of high school has come to an end, but instead of finding himself in a new classroom, he's found himself in an entirely new world! Watch as this genre-savvy teen finds outs that there's much more dungeon crawling than just killing monsters. There's strangely also weird romantic comedy elements? (Now being cross-posted on Ao3 and SpaceBattles)
1. Revised Essay

[_This was found on Hikigaya Hachiman's desk the night of his disappearance._]

* * *

Hikigaya Hachiman

Class 2F

Hiratsuka Shizuka

4 March 20XX

Submitted Report - 'Looking Back on High School Life (Revised)'

Youth is still a lie. It is still evil, but a necessary one.

The concept of a necessary evil is to propose a grey, an in between, to a black and white scenario. This is what 'youth' is.

One may look at an exam they failed and excuse it to themselves, saying that life isn't all about academics and studying. They lie to themselves. They believe that by removing the personal value of failure, that none exists whatsoever. Others may look at the same score and feel nothing but shame and inferiority. Outsiders may view this as the 'mature, pragmatic, and responsible' conclusion, but this is yet another lie they tell themselves to make sure their time wasn't a waste.

Both conclusions have their pros and cons, but in the end, the exam lies in the middle. It has enough value to ruin your life given the right circumstances, but that does not mean that you should give it the power to.

Youth is not 'failure' and it is not 'success'. It is about the lies you tell yourself to make it all seem worth it in the end.

And to that end, everyone can go blow themselves up. Riajuu and otaku alike. Including myself.

* * *

**A/N:** Yo, what the fuck is this? Why are you making a new story when you have twenty billion that you have yet to update, you fucking clown?

The answer to the first question is that this is a remake of my old story 'My Time Dungeon Crawling Goes About as Well as I Expected'. Mainly because I felt like I needed to remake it because the other story was far from my best work. It was very much made without a lot of forethought and I didn't really think about what would make it the best thing possible. I really just did it because I liked Sage's story and wanted to continue it in my own way.

I now realize that this was a mistake and that I shouldn't have done that. Also, I really wanted a new series that I wanted to take super serious (I super duper promise this time). This is gonna get my full love and care from now until I can't take it anymore. Not gonna give any sort of schedule, but expect the second chapter to come out in around three or four months.

To answer the second question, yes, I am a clown. I fly by the seat of my over-sized clown pants. I do what I feel like. Deal with it. Bye!


	2. Chapter 1: Starting is the Hardest Part

**My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy than I Expected, Chapter 1. Of Course, The Hardest Part is Starting.**

…

"Eina-san!" Some simply gawked at the blood-soaked boy as he ran full speed through the crowded streets of Orario. Most openly pointed, laughed, and mocked him. I chose to sigh as I trudged along behind, following his blood-soaked path. Either way, the sixteen-year-old boy didn't pay any mind to these reactions.

Do my eyes deceive me? Is that really you, Cranel? The boy I met when I first came here would never have been able to ignore others like this! To think that it only took you a few weeks to learn the truest way to live, the way of the loner— Pft! Ah, who am I kidding? You'd be rolling around on the ground, mid-panic attack if it weren't for your indomitable ability to be as dense as a rock. If only we could all be as awful at reading the room as you are, dear familia member o' mine! The world would truly be a better place.

"Eina-san!" The albino, even when covered head to toe in minotaur blood, was much faster than me. I had been trying to keep up with him ever since he first broke off running out of the Dungeon, but eventually, my legs grew so heavy trying to keep up that he ran so far ahead of me that I couldn't see his back anymore. When that happened, I came to a halt with a huff.

How in the world do you still have this much energy, Cranel? Didn't you almost die via literal raging man-bull goring twenty minutes ago? You did? Well, would you please start acting like it? Your lack of reaction is starting to make _me_ worry!

"Heh, that annoying kid part of your familia?" A gravelly voice came from my right. Turning towards it, I found myself looking at some guy that was barely worth describing. So, I'm not going to! Could you please leave me alone, 'random citizen who may or may not be an asshole'-san? I'd like to trudge after that annoying kid you're making fun of, thank you very much. "When you see him next, you mind putting him down for me? He's already running around like a chicken with its head cut off, so you might as well!"

The stranger planted his hands on his waist and began to laugh. All it took was him leaning his head back into the air for me to understand just what he was. For a second, you got me believing that you were of some importance. Maybe a gruff shopkeeper that might give me useless-sounding advice that would help me later on in my journey, but nope. Bye, bye, random background character-sama~! May you never learn of your true importance to the world. Just keep living that life of yours; running this copy-and-paste fruit stand of yours and setting this world's tone, feel, atmosphere by being an ass. Existentialism to the uninitiated can be a killer, y'knooow~?

"H-Hey, where do you think you're going? I was talking to you!" I ignored the man as he began to sling curses my way. An easy enough thing to do with all the commotion going on around me. Hagglers haggling with shop owners at their booths, beggars begging those hagglers for any scraps they may have, and passerbys passing those beggars by. More than enough external noise to keep me from hearing any outside garbage.

A sigh made my body feel heavier as I continued to drag it to my destination. Come on, body. Just bear with me a little bit longer. Once we cash in these stones, we can go home and pass out like you want. Maybe even eat something too! You just need to hold on. Plus ultra!

Despite my attempts to keep motivated, I still loathed the time it took to reach my goal. It only took me a few minutes or so, but I still hated every second of it. Hopefully, these trips will start to get easier from here on out. Sure, I really didn't have much of a choice in the matter, but the hope still lingered at the forefront of my mind. To work is to lose, after all.

The faintest of smiles crossed my lips at that. Clearly, no matter what world I found myself in, I was still painfully and wholeheartedly Hikigaya Hachiman.

…

In Orario, the Dungeon reigned with an iron fist. Why? Well, that was because of the monsters that roamed its labyrinthine halls. And no, I wasn't talking about just the figurative kind either, although I was sure that was still a major problem.

In a very literal sense, the Dungeon acted like the kind one might see in your standard RPG. Spiraling down into the ground, it spawned monsters of increasing difficulty with each level. I really couldn't say much on what kind of monsters were actually down there, as I had only started adventuring not too long ago and my two-man party had only just gotten down to the fifth level today, but I did know one thing.

When monsters were killed, they dropped magic stones. And those stones, even when they were as small as a piece of gravel, were worth a fair amount of money to an organization called the Guild, who had an actual monopoly on the trade.

Why did the Guild want these stones? Well, that was because they were a valuable resource in creating certain weapons that did certain things that I wasn't all too sure of yet. I, however, did know that they were also used to power certain electronics, which this fantasy setting did have. Nothing like what I was used to, but amenities like lights, hot water, and refrigeration did exist, which was nice to know even though I was too poor to have access to any of them.

Now, since all of that prerequisite information was out of the way, onto why I was even bothering to explain it all. Basically, it was to better emphasize the importance of the yellow-brick building in front of me.

The Pantheon, the Guild's headquarters in Orario. This is where adventurers went to cash in their magic stones. This was also where people went to register themselves as official adventurers. Technically speaking, an adventurer didn't need them to go into the dungeon and kill monsters, but if you wanted to make a living off your hard work then you needed to stop by and fill out all the necessary paperwork.

That being said, I'm sure that there were a bunch of (il)legal loopholes one could jump through if they wanted to avoid dealing with the Guild. Probably some sort of shady, underground black market that operated out of the really sketchy parts of the city, but was really actually controlled by someone on the opposite end of the food chain.

I should probably look into that once I get stronger. Seemed like an opportunity to make some easy money in the future. Plus, I might get some Robin Hood points. Everyone loves an anti-hero, after all, even though I'd just be some scumbag taking advantage of an even bigger scumbag. Honor among thieves was an overrated trope anyways.

I smiled at that, but quickly refocused on the massive marble archway that served as the Pantheon's entrance - an entrance that was sandwiched in an indent of the massive structure. Can't be wasting my time.

Every time I saw it, I couldn't help but shake my head and wonder who thought a design like this would work for a major institution. Clearly, the construction of the entrance was meant to help control the flow of traffic coming in and out, but the only doors to speak of were two pieces of wood that went from my belly button to the top of my thigh. They were barely even doors! How did they even lock this place up at night?

Before I could think about nonsensical design decisions any more, I took note of the deep, almost black crimson spots that stained the pure alabaster stone leading up to the entrance and pieced together what had most likely happened. Breathe, Hachiman. Let's just hope that he hasn't stirred up too much trouble. The last thing I need is her having another reason to be pissed off at me.

_Go_.

Pushing my wishful thoughts to the side, I plodded into the Pantheon, pushing past the 'doors' without even taking my hands out of my pockets.

The place was busy as usual, though considerably less so than when Cranel and I usually came in.

To my immediate left, there were the teller cages, the place where all monetary transactions were processed. The cage was made completely out of gold, except for the part in which you dropped your stones into was made of a deep brown wood.

Directly in front of me was the front desk. It spanned almost a third of the room by itself and was where advisers and adventurers met to discuss smaller, quicker things. Prospective adventurers could also go there to ask general questions. Usually, it wasn't too busy, but it seemed like the Guild employees present actually had people to attend today strangely enough.

To my right was the complete opposite of that. All along that side, from the front to the back, were sets of wood tables and light green couches. Two couches to one table, which were empty aside from that. All lengthy discussions between adviser and client took place there. Or rather, in my case, it was where your adviser lectured you on things that didn't even concern adventuring. I suddenly felt much more tired for some reason.

Alright, now, where did that idiot run off to? Frowning, my eyes did another once over of my surroundings, hoping to find Cranel, but ended up finding nothing. Hm? Did I just miss him or something? I was taking my time, so maybe—

"Um, excuse me, sir?" A masculine voice came from my right, prompting me to turn to face it. My first response was to feel as though I was supposed to jump in fright to fulfill some comedic gag or whatever, but it was hard to be taken off guard by anything when you were aware of its presence from the outset. The failed jumpscare took the form of a man wearing the standard Guild uniform – a black vest over a white button-up and a pair of black slacks. Everything about him oozed plain. His hair, his smile, his tone – it made me wonder if I was talking to a blank silhouette instead of a living being. I guess that made him perfect to work in a place like this, huh? "You're Hachiman Hikigaya, right?"

I nodded, all the while wondering why he even bothered to ask.

"Ah, it's just like Tulle-san said." The Guild employee let out a chuckle, which caused my brow to furrow. What did that woman have to say about me this time—? "You were very easy to identify."

…Oi, what in the world was that? That was incredibly rude, y'know? What kind of customer service worker are you? Insulting me and laughing isn't going to make me want to do so as well. It's actually making me want to run! All the way to your boss to complain about this exchange. We aren't friends, you riajuu bastard! So, stop acting like it and leave me alone!

"I assume that you're looking for Cranel-san?" I nodded again, deciding to keep my gripes to myself. "Tulle-san took him to the back to get cleaned up. What happened to him, if you mind me asking? It looks like he took a bath in a pool of pig blood—"

Humming, I left the man to start heading in the direction that he pointed me towards.

A few seconds and a turn of a corner later, I found the two people that I was looking for, walking in my direction. What a remarkable coincidence! It's almost as if things were written that way.

"Thank you again for letting me use your bathroom, Tulle-san!" Running a towel through his white hair, Cranel flashed said Guild adviser a smile that I knew could decimate entire legions of men and women alike. How did that even work? How could one fight when their hearts were melted? Exactly. Given how Tulle's cheeks got just a tinge redder, it looked like that unwitting weapon just claimed another victim. I had to keep myself from snickering at the sight. "Sorry about coming here without cleaning up first." The albino let out a chuckle as he scratched at the back of his head. "I was just so excited that I really didn't think things through."

Tulle shook her head as she looked away and smiled. My ability to keep composed was put to the test when I saw the half-elf reach up and brush some of her brown hair back behind a pointy ear. Is that a blush I see?! "What am I ever going to do with you, Bell-kun?"

'Bell-kun', huh? You're on a first name basis already, Tulle? You work faster than I thought. Or, was it Cranel doing the work here? To say that I was thoroughly amused would be an understatement. Getting to see a woman, who has done nothing but lecture and treat me like a witless child with a penchant for delinquency, act so pure and demure made me want to jump with joy. Not because I found the situation cute or anything, but for more nefarious reasons. No, wait, retract that. That was a trashy thought for trashy people who liked NTR. I couldn't give them any fuel to add to their dumpster fires.

What was I thinking about? Oh, right, Tulle trying to raise flags with the emotional boulder that was Cranel. If my kami-sama were here, she'd be weeping. Best break up this event before the twin-tailed loli teleports behind me and rips out my spine for being so complacent. Seriously Cranel? I haven't even known you for more than a few weeks and you already have two women this madly into you? You really are the protagonist of this world, aren't you?

"Oi, Cranel." The only other member of the Hestia familia jumped when I called out to him. A pair of crimson eyes met my own as his head snapped over in my direction.

"A-Ah, Hikigaya-san!" When Cranel recovered from the initial shock, he bounded over to me in a way that reminded me of a puppy who missed its owner. The moment he reached me, he released on me that unwitting weapon of his. Thankfully, my cold, deader than dead heart kept me from being blown away. "You finally made it! When I saw that you weren't behind me, I thought that something bad might have happened."

Really? Wow. Well, thank you for being so concerned about my well being, Cranel. I could tell from your little exchange with Tulle earlier that my condition was really weighing heavy on your mind. I bet that smile earlier was really just a thinly-veiled mask to keep your true emotions hidden. Tch, you're naught but a Brutus in disguise! Or, even worse, a short-haired version of a certain, also white-haired, pretty boy military commander!

Of course, all those sarcastic thoughts never actually left my mouth. I knew better than to openly berate a guy like Cranel in front of one of his admirers. As they say, hell hath no fury like a woman whose crush you openly made fun of (source: Miura Yumiko).

Also, while I could count the number of weeks Cranel and I had known each other on a single hand, I did spend enough time around him to know that he wasn't the kind of main character to have alternative motives. Not for the sake of any moral standing or philosophy, or anything like that either, he was simply just too dim to have any. And so, I found that I could very reliably take his words at face value!

Still, I had to punish him somehow for rushing off as he did earlier. Had to rip that kind of behavior out of him before he ended up doing it in the Dungeon, or somewhere else equally as dangerous. So, instead of immediately responding, I just stared at my lone companion into the dungeon in complete silence. Just to make him squirm a little.

Unfortunately, it seemed that a certain Guild adviser caught wind of my plan to punish— I mean, train my familia, as, before I could even get a few seconds into said training, she raised a fist to her lips and cleared her throat.

"It's alright, Hikigaya-san." When I turned to look at my adviser, I found that she had her head angled slightly down and her left hand on the bridge of her glasses. Pushing up on it, she lifted the glare that obscured her deep green eyes. Hm… Nice try, Tulle, but you're nowhere as good at that shtick as you like to believe. 5/10 at best! Next time, if you're going to pull that card, please practice and make sure that you can get at least a 7/10. Thank you very much for listening to my critical criticism. "The first thing he did after he ran up to me — covered in blood, might I add — was worry about you. So, please don't hold that against him."

Yep, that sounds like the Bell Cranel I know. "So, did Cranel get to why he was covered in blood in the first place?"

"No, since he was dripping blood all over the place, I hadn't been able to ask him about that." After she said all that, I noticed Tulle take a quick breath in and out, before forcing the corners of her lips up to form a smile that looked very natural. "Though, he did mention something about the both of you going down to the fifth floor."

Body tensing, I shot a glare at my snow-haired compatriot, who was doing his best to not meet my gaze. Head turned away, eyes focused up toward the ceiling…. Hell, the only way the yappy bastard could look any more guilty right now was to start whistling.

"Did I not tell the two of you that you weren't ready to go down that far just yet?" When I turned my attention back onto Tulle, I found myself taking an instinctive step back at what I was seeing. Head tilted to the side ever so slightly and forced smile becoming wider without her lips moving somehow, purple squiggly lines appeared behind my adviser. Even with her eyes closed, I could tell that she was glaring at me. Oi, why are you acting like this was all my fault? Cranel never said 'no' to the idea! He was actually really excited about it! That makes this half his fault too, y'know! "Care to tell me where Bell-kun got the idea to do exactly the opposite of what I advised, Hikigaya-san?"

"Oh, uh…." Feeling a bead of sweat trickle down the side of my face, I turned my eyes away from Tulle, secretly hoping that a minotaur would burst in and do what it tried to do with Cranel to me but actually succeed.

"A-Ah, Tulle-san, please don't blame only Hikigaya-san!" Thankfully, I wasn't the only one who thought the blame was being distributed unfairly. The outburst caused the Guild employee to stagger and turn towards Cranel, who was already bowing his head. "The two of us were doing so well that I didn't think that going down that far would be dangerous! I'm sorry!"

I smirked as Tulle stared at the boy. Ha! With all your posturing, you forgot to take into account the chance of Cranel's unbearable honesty backfiring on you as well! Yes! Sigh tiredly! Find a silver platter and serve me my victory on it!

"That doesn't make me feel better at all…." The adviser began to massage the bridge of her nose as she cradled her elbow with her other arm. "What am I going to do with you two? Barely two weeks as adventurers and the two of you are already causing me more problems than some of my longer clients."

"Well, to be fair, we didn't expect to see a Minotaur on the fifth floor." Eyes finding their way to my left, those words ended up coming out of my mouth without much thought. "So, things probably would've went fine if that hadn't happened."

"Still, I had hoped that one would've known better— Wait, Minotaur?" I nodded in response to her shock. Wait, shit, did I accidentally pull a Cranel? "Bell-kun, Hikigaya-san, do you mind explaining to me what exactly happened to you two?"

…

The story itself wasn't something too complicated. Basically, Cranel and I went into the dungeon with the goal of reaching Floor 5. We got there and as we explored the floor, a Minotaur appeared and tried to pummel my party member into a fine pulp. It was really only by luck that two high-level adventurers came by and dealt with the thing before I had to go back to Hestia with the news of Cranel's death, which was naturally something I'd like to avoid as that would end up with my own and death by big-boobed loli goddess, while understandable for some, wasn't a way I wanted to go out. Still, the ease in which we told the story made Tulle become more and more exasperated with the story as we went on, which was probably the only good thing to come out of this situation.

"You two have to be the luckiest pair of adventurers I've ever met." Tulle let out a sigh as she massaged the bridge of her nose. Oi, why do you sound so displeased? Isn't the two of us being lucky a good thing? Are you trying to say that you'd rather us die?! What a bad adviser! "Do you know how many novice adventurers can say that they've run into a Minotaur and survived?"

"Not many?" I leaned further back into my seat as I offered Tulle my best guess. From the corner of my eye, I could see the corners of Cranel smile much as he did with the half-elf earlier. Huh, what's this? Has my only familia finally learned how to harness his powers over all female kind and abuse them to Hell and back for his own personal gain? Or, wait…. Could he have possibly thought my prod was funny? By kami-sama, there might be hope for you yet!

In response to such a ridiculously hilarious statement, a smirk threatened to break my stoic expression. I fought it down with every fiber of my being. It'd only interfere with Cranel's skill and negate any passive effects that it forced on Tulle, who already looked to be relenting to its power.

The guild employee's gaze remained scrutinizing for about ten seconds after the initial activation of the skill, but the cracks began to appear halfway in. Eventually, she shattered to pieces and folded like a house of cards during an earthquake. Her shoulders slumping signaled another victory for the Hestia familia. "I suppose that I should be grateful that my two newest clients made it out unharmed…."

I tried to capitalize on such easy prey, but whatever I was about to say died in my throat as Tulle's head snapped up like a bullet. The next instant, she was leveling another glare at both me and Cranel — a clear counter-offensive if I've ever seen one.

"Don't just think that I'm going to forget about you two blatantly ignoring my guidance, even if it didn't directly lead to what happened." She pointed a finger at me and then at Cranel, which caused both of us to lean back in our seats. "Do not go any further than the fifth floor, do you two understand me? I don't want to be the one to tell Hestia-sama that her only children were killed because they thought too highly of themselves."

I swallowed hard and nodded in resignation. A woman who thought herself scorned was dangerous, especially if that woman had close ties to the business that handled the entirety of your income, and I wasn't a big enough dumbass to think myself different. "F-Fine…."

Besides me, Bell yelped out the same sentiment, "Understood, Tulle-san!"

Our impromptu meeting with our Guild adviser ended with that and, for the second time that day, I felt as though Cranel and I had just barely escaped with our lives. At least my only familia was able to get some semblance of revenge by raising some flags with her before we left. I may not have had anything to do with it, but I still felt it to be a collective win.

Truly, I had to take whatever victories I could get.

…

"It's not like you to stew in silence like that, Cranel." I normally wasn't one to mind long, extended bouts of silence. Actually, being the loner I am, I preferred it. However, even I have a limit to how much awkwardness I could take and there was nothing more awkward than seeing someone not act like how they usually do. "If I noticed, then Hestia-sama isn't going to miss it either, and you and I both know she isn't going to ask as nicely as I did. So, it's best to just get it off your conscious now."

All that being said, the road that Cranel and I were walking down was far from sharing the same dynamic. Rather, it was painfully loud. Still, even amongst the chatter of what had to be hundreds of people flowing to and fro, the silence from one irritatingly loud idiot was what caught my attention. That really didn't mean much considering I was still me, but the point stands.

"A-Ah, it's nothing to worry about, Hikigaya-san." Since Cranel was trailing behind me ever so slightly, I couldn't actually see how he reacted, but by his tone, I could tell that he was scratching a part of his head. Probably his cheek or the back of it. Yeah, that seemed like a very appropriate reaction for a protagonist like him. "I was just thinking."

I snorted at my familia's transparency. 'Thinking'? Since when did you think about anything so heavily? "If you wanted me to stop worrying, that was an awful attempt."

I knew that if I wanted, I could just apply a little verbal pressure and get him to just come out with it, but I decided against it. There was no real point. A blind person could see what was bothering him from a kilometer away. And if that was the case, why waste time? Best to just nip this in the bud. Heh, that almost sounded cool, me.

"Don't waste energy worrying about stuff that's already happened. Just think about it. If you could go back and make a different decision, would doing so really change much at all? Or, are you just telling yourself that to make yourself feel better? Wasting time thinking about things you regret is pointless, so quit worrying about that minotaur attack and keep focused on the present."

"Oh, uh, that really wasn't—" Upon hearing him suddenly stop talking, I glanced over my shoulder back at Cranel to make sure he hadn't been abruptly kidnapped. Instead of finding him getting assaulted, he assaulted my eyes with the widest, brightest smile I've seen outside of the Totsuka Galaxy. Oi, no surprise attacks! That's way too unfair! "Actually, now that I think about it, that's really smart! I'll do my best to remember that. Thank you, Hikigaya-san!"

"Oi, what's with that surprise?" I'm fully capable of saying deep things, y'know? Also, what's with that hesitation? Did I misinterpret something there? …Eh, whatever. At the very least, Cranel seems to be back to his usual, annoying self, which means we can finally move on to more important things. "Anyways, what do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Dinner?" As per tradition, the albino's stomach let out a loud and audible growl after him saying that. I huffed bemusedly and turned my head back to its original, forward-facing position. Wouldn't want to accidentally bump into someone, me. That's how subplots are created. "R-Right! Wait, do we even have enough to buy anything? That minotaur attack—"

"—That minotaur attack made the day a wash." Keeping to my philosophy of eliminating unnecessary questions, I once again cut my only familia off. "There was no way we were going to hit our usual goal, so I decided to just forgo putting anything into our savings for today. Besides, I'd rather not eat cold croquettes for the fifth night in a row."

"But Hestia-sama works hard for those!"

"Did I ever say anything about not appreciating them?" If there was anything in the world I appreciated, it was food that I didn't have to work for. Even if I hated the food, I would still eat it just on that principle. Logically, that meant that there was no one in this world that appreciated Hestia-sama more than I did, so don't you ever ensue otherwise, Cranel. Such speak is blasphemy! "You might've learned to sustain yourself solely off gratitude, but I haven't, and I'm sure Hestia-sama hasn't too, so she'll probably appreciate the change of pace."

"Oh, you're right!" Of course, using his propensity for pleasing those he cares about was the best way to manipu— ahem, _coerce_ the protagonist into agreeing with me. I didn't have any alternative motives, thought. I just wanted to eat. "We should go for something really good then, huh?"

"What did you have in mind, then?" Oi, Cranel, did you forget about the question that started this conversation? Why does it sound like you're trying to get me to make a decision here when I clearly had no idea in the first place?

"Um… What do you think we should get, Hikigaya-san? I don't really know what kind of food Hestia-sama likes eating."

I clicked my tongue against the back of my teeth. I didn't know what she liked to eat either.

…

_Stop._

Naturally, there were a lot of differences between my old world and my current one - one such difference being the standard of education.

Having come from modern-day Japan, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I was much more educated than most people here in Orario, where things were much more akin to the Italian Renaissance in terms of education. The more well-off you were, the more likely you were to receive an education. The problem arising when you took in the fact that the majority of the people living here didn't even come close.

If this were your standard light novel, I would use this difference in education to create world-shaking inventions like guns or steam engines, or whatever. Unfortunately, I was far too standard a teenager to achieve anything of that nature. Sure, I got into the most selective high school in my city and ranked top three in Japanese, but I was admittedly pretty abysmal at subjects like math and science. At most I could explain certain concepts to people, like how a bullet is just a metal ball being propelled down a tube by a contained explosion, but I had no idea how to make gunpowder or what could even serve as appropriate replacement, so the point was already moot. As per usual, a good concept might as well be a fever dream when you had no way to execute it.

That being said, despite how shitty I was at math and science in my old universe, I still generally had a leg up on almost everyone here in Orario. Meaning that, despite one of them being a literal God, I was still somehow better at those subjects than the rest of my familia.

Typically, I would jump at the chance to lord my mental superiority over others, but my relative competency ended up backfiring, as it made me the leading candidate to handle all of the familia's finances - a fact that filled me with large amounts of existential dread as it meant I had to do more work. That work wasn't exceptionally difficult, but work was work and to work was to lose. No exceptions.

A big part of that work was budgeting. In concept, all budgets consisted of two major things: income and expenses. The Hestia familia had two sources of the first. Hestia-sama herself got paid a steady wage working at a stand that sold street food and got bonuses based on how much product was sold in a day, although those bonuses more often than not came in the form of surplus food to take home. Cranel and I were adventurers, so our income came solely from collecting monster crystals. We had a larger earning potential than our kami and so, even in our novice states, we typically made more than her in a day if we spent it efficiently.

However, all of that was before I factored in our expenses, which never failed to make me understand why my corporate slave parents always seemed like they were two steps away from death. First came the expenses that couldn't be avoided, like the small percentage that the guild took off me and Cranel's earnings every time we turned our crystals in for "processing and services," which basically meant that we were paying for Tulle's lectures and the cost of the novice equipment they provided us with. Fortunately, due to the lack of an actual government in Orario, and the fact that we lived in the basement of a rundown church gifted to Hestia-sama by one of her God friends, I didn't have to factor in things like taxes and rent. Unfortunately, since that was the case, there was no excuse not to be fiscally responsible and put almost all of our adventuring money into our respective savings accounts for the future. On a normal day, that left a very small percentage to be spent on things like food. _Go._

Thankfully, today wasn't a normal day, so I had a much larger budget to work with!

"Ah, are you sure about that Hikigaya-san? Don't those carrots look kinda… weird?"

"That's the point, Cranel." Technically, one could spend their money on food in one of two ways: paying someone to make you food or buying the ingredients and making the food yourself. Both options had their pros and cons, and Cranel and I were currently dealing with one of the cons of the latter. "The weirder the food looks, the cheaper we can get it. It's still a carrot, isn't it?"

That, however, didn't mean we had a lot of money to work with.

Buying all of the ingredients and cooking the food yourself only made sense because it was almost always the cheaper option. The moment that stopped being the case, there was no good reason to not just have someone make it for you. Health? Ha! Joke's on you. I may have only become an adventurer two weeks ago, but this tattoo on my back still made my constitution superhuman, so making unhealthy decisions hardly mattered to me. The only thing that mattered in this scenario was spending as little money as possible!

Of course, since I was in charge of the Hestia familia finances, I made it a point to do just that, even if we're technically trying to treat ourselves. A lot of money was saved keeping to our diet of solely cold potato croquettes. There was no reason to disgrace that effort by blowing it all at once splurging.

"That makes a lot of sense!" I raised an eyebrow at Cranel, who stared at me with wide red eyes that were filled with wonder. It made me feel like I just bestowed some profound knowledge on him, so I couldn't help smirking a bit. "I'll look for more weird carrots then."

"We only needed the two carrots so don't bother." Cranel's shoulders slumped at that, almost as if he would've been happy to do the work. Aren't you only a year younger than me? So, why are you acting like a bored child stuck at the grocery store? "We are going to need a couple of onions, though, so if you could get those—"

"—Understood, Hikigaya-san!" As if to prove my point, Cranel gave me an energy-filled salute before dashing off to complete his mission. Go, my albino familia member! Go! Beware of all shady con men and honey-tongued women, they'll take advantage of your naive heart and rid your pockets of any valis. Wait, dammit, that sounded like advice my dad would give me. I now hate this entire situation.

Shaking off the shame I felt at my own uselessness, I quickly paid for the two carrots in my hand and threw it into the basket in my hand. Inside was all the ingredients I needed to make curry, the one thing that I could cook pretty well. Beef, butter, carrots, and all of the stuff needed to make a roux since curry sauce packs didn't exist yet. The only things left on my list were potatoes, onions, and rice. Hestia-sama was probably going to bring back potato croquettes from her job again, so a few valis could be saved by using those, and Cranel was going to get the onions, which just leaves the rice…. _Stop_.

Scanning the numerous food stalls around me, my eyes searched for the final ingredient on my list. It took a moment or two given all of the other people creating outside stimuli, but eventually, I found what I was looking for on the other end of the row of stalls I was on. With a quick '_go_', I started to make my way over to it.

As I approached the stand, I couldn't help but make a note of a few things. The first thing I noticed was how rice centric it was. Burlap sacks lined every inch of the wood counter and the ground in front of it, all of which being filled with varying types of rice. The second thing was the fact that it probably didn't get much business. From the fact that the sacks were all mostly full to how the brown-haired woman manning it was too busy staring off into space to notice my approach, they all pointed towards that conclusion. Though, now that I think about it, the latter might've played a part in that. Either way, I didn't care. Lack of business meant desperation and desperation would ensure I'd get a decent price, and that was always better than quality customer service.

I raised a fist up to my mouth and loudly cleared my throat as I stepped in front of the stall. The vendor, who shall now be dubbed rice seller-chan, jumped and let out a loud yelp as she snapped herself straight. I watched her brown eyes shoot in every direction before they finally settled on me.

"O-Oh, a customer!" I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Who else were you expecting, rice seller-chan? "I thought you were my father there for a second. How can I help you, sir?"

Huh? What was that? Are you some sort of esper, rice seller-chan? Wait, if that's the case, I probably shouldn't have thought. Or that. Or at all really.

"How much would three bowl-fulls of white rice cost me?"

…

Of course, the rest of the interaction couldn't go as tediously mundane. It started off well enough. Rice seller-chan told me the price of the rice and I found it agreeable (although, I mainly only did so because I was tired and didn't want to check other seller's prices), and she began the process of getting what I needed, which was where she went to go get a container to put the rice in and found that she had none.

She apologized profusely and asked me to wait while she ran home to get some, even offering to give me a discount for the inconvenience. I, being the pure-blooded Japanese man that I was, told her that much wasn't necessary and that I'd wait for her, despite the inconvenience. Besides, leaving to go find another rice vendor wasn't really an option since I was sure Cranel would come back here once he got the onions. It'd just make things more complicated in the long run, so I capitulated.

Rice seller-chan thanked me again as she hurriedly slipped her apron off and then ran off, leaving me to watch her and let out a sigh.

Now, for the millionth time since I first woke up in this world, I found myself lamenting the fact that I didn't have my phone. Not that I expected it to turn me into an all-powerful god-king or whatever, but it would be nice to have for moments like this. Just to alleviate the boredom that came with not having it. I could probably try and start carrying around a small book just to fulfill that duty, but that would be a luxury expense and a recurring one at that, so I would have to hold off on doing that for a while.

For that reason, and I could feel my inner loner dying as I thought this, I was starting to miss Cranel. Sure, he could be loud and annoying, but at the very least, he would be loud and annoying enough to distract me from my boredom. Is this why riajuu spent so much time and energy talking? If so, how incredibly sad. I've spent my entire life hating riajuu, but I should have been pitying them this entire time—

"That was really kind of you to do."

Oi, random stranger-kun, you know what's not a nice thing to do? Sneaking up on people and scaring them. And no, I wasn't only saying that because it made me jump. Nope, I didn't jump at all. I was just speaking generally—

"Takemikazuchi-sama, how many times do I have to remind you to refrain from walking up to people like that? All you end up doing is frightening them."

…Goddammit. At least I didn't scream or anything like that. That would've been way too been embarrass— Wait, did random stranger-chan say 'Takemikazuchi-sama'?

Being relatively well-versed in Japanese history and mythology, the name Takemikazuchi struck a chord with me immediately. That being said, I knew better than to expect this world's version of the thunder god to be anything like the one from my own. Hestia-sama taught me that lesson, although not intentionally. The gods of this world didn't adhere to any sort of historical accuracy. No, any and all deities had to first be filtered through the "creative" lens of the light novel author.

What do you mean that Hestia, the Greek goddess of hearth and home, has never been depicted as a big-boobed loli girl with twin-tails and a ribbon holding up said big boobs? What a poor, naive fool you are. While you are technically correct, that means nothing in the eyes of the most degenerate branch of the Japanese populace, who light novels are mostly meant for. Everything has to be anime-fied. Everything. Animals, famous figures in history, old WW2 battleships…. Hell, some of the worst of us have even anime-fied deadly diseases and bloodthirsty dictators who've killed millions!

By that standard, brazenly misrepresenting ancient deities was far from the worst thing ever done for the sake of the anime aesthetic. So, that's why, when I turned to face this world's version of Takemikazuchi, I wasn't at all surprised to find a riajuu pretty boy giving me a warm smile.

Well, at least he hasn't been magically turned into a girl.

* * *

**Interlude At the Last Second, Yamato Mikoto Sees Something Worth Seeing.**

…

I knew Orario was different from the moment I first stepped into it. The city felt entirely different from any other that I've been in during my short life. Movement was constant on its streets and it felt like if I closed my eyes for even a moment, ten would be stolen away from me. I didn't like it. When I first told Takemikazuchi-sama of my dislike for this place, he called the feeling 'homesickness' and assured me that I would adjust to my surroundings with time.

That had been over two years ago and I still couldn't call this city home. Its streets still made me feel like a stationary stone caught in the waters of a raging river. Since then, I've gotten better at hiding my discomfort, but I doubt that I would ever feel truly comfortable in the world's center. To me, home was still located far, far east from here.

I could've lamented that fact every day of my life, but instead, I took comfort in the pieces of home that accompanied me here. Takemikazuchi-sama, Ouka, and Chisuga. They were both my reasoning and strength, a constant reminder of home and why I was here to begin with. They were my medicine for this 'homesickness' that my kami-sama diagnosed me with.

Of course, I wasn't the only member of my familia who felt that way. We all had our ways to cope with these feelings of longing and discomfort, even Takemikazuchi-sama. He did so by surrounding himself with things from our homeland. That, however, fed into a rather tiring habit of his.

"That was really kind of you to do." Unsurprisingly, the boy that Takemikazuchi-sama chose to approach from out of the blue startled from the sudden greeting.

I sighed at that. Being as friendly as he was, my kami-sama probably didn't see any problem with the act. He was of the mindset that if there was someone he wanted to talk to, he would just walk up and talk to them. If he were anything other than a kami, that mindset would've been disconcerting and dangerous, but seeing as he was, there wasn't much that I could do other than remind him of his folly.

"Takemikazuchi-sama, how many times do I have to remind you to refrain from walking up to people like that?" I crossed my arms over my chest as I voiced my frustrations. "All you ever end up doing is frightening them."

As per usual, Takemikazuchi-sama ignored me, which made me even more exasperated. I knew better than to assume that he did so with any malice, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

The boy that my kami-sama startled turned to face him and the moment I saw his face, I realized what had drawn the kami to him in the first place.

"Ah, so my eyes didn't fail me. You come from the East as well, don't you?" Bluntly as ever, Takemikazuchi-sama spoke out loud my assumptions. "Tell me, were you born here or did you travel here like we did?"

"Um…." Like a stray cat unused to human contact, the boy's tiny grey eyes darted between me and my kami-sama for several moments. His entire body was tense and radiating discomfort, almost as if any sudden movement would make him bolt down the street and into an alley for safety. I took this moment to take in his appearance more thoroughly, as with the number of people roaming the streets I hadn't been able to do so before Takemikazuchi-sama approached him suddenly.

Just as my kami-sama said, the boy did share many of the features associated with our countrymen, so much so that I was initially tempted to call him very plain looking. That changed the longer that my eyes rested on him, however. He reminded me of an expertly sharpened kitchen knife. Unassuming due to the familiarity, but still something to be wary of.

That energy radiated off almost every part of him. His face acted like the knife's belly, where it was technically less dangerous by nature, but immediately one's eyes skipped over it and were drawn towards the fineness of his jaw, or rather, the edge that framed the belly. And just like with an actual blade, all of that led up to its tip, which was represented by his eyes. Dark, sharp, and tiny; they existed merely as reproachful black dots in seas of white and were by far the most eye-catching part of him. I would've assumed him a neerdowell if not for his hair, which was unkempt, black, and fell right above his eyes, serving as a good buffer for their sharpness.

Yes, like a kitchen knife was a good way to describe the boy before me.

"The latter." When the boy finally broke his silence, he did so with great caution, almost as if a single wrong word would lead to his immediate death. Hearing the distrust in his voice made my brow twitch, but I could not truly blame him. Takemikazuchi-sama and I were strangers to him - strangers who approached him in the market for seemingly no reason. I would probably feel the same in his shoes.

"Oh, a kindred spirit then?" Takemikazuchi-sama, being as socially oblivious as he was friendly, completely ignored the boy's obvious discomfort and continued on as if nothing was wrong. "How long have you been in Orario?"

Once again, the boy opted to not answer immediately and chose to blankly stare at the kami, before eventually shaking his head and letting out a sigh. "You're really not going to let this go, huh? I've only been in the city for a few weeks."

"A newcomer then? Well, if no one's done so already, allow me to welcome you to Orario." Takemikazuchi-sama laughed sheepishly. "Ah, look at me! My familia and I have only been in this city for two years ourselves, so I don't really believe myself qualified to do so."

"Thanks?"

"Ah, how rude of me. I just realized that I never gave a formal introduction." As per tradition, my kami-sama bowed his head in greeting, which prompted me to do the same. "My name is Takemikazuchi and this girl with me is one of my precious children, Mikoto Yamato. Please take care of us."

Seeing no reason to add on myself, I straightened myself and took immediate note of the boy's discomfort. It wasn't the same as it was earlier, where he seemed like he was doing everything in his power to get us away from him. Now, instead of reproach, it seemed more akin to embarrassment, which was at least an improvement.

"Hikigaya Hachiman." Shifting where he stood, the boy averted his gaze towards the rice stand next to us. I couldn't help but feel a little amused watching him. It seems that my earlier assessment of him was rather off base. "It's, uh, nice to meet you."

"Oh, that's a name I've heard before! Are you not Hestia's new child? She's told me a lot about you."

Hikigaya frowned and raised a brow at the question. "You two know each other?"

"Yes, we're good friends actually. I was really happy to hear that she was finally able to find people to join her familia." Ah, right, I remember Takemikazuchi-sama talking about this. How Hestia-sama was having trouble finding people to join her familia, which while sad was to be expected from a goddess of her status, or lack thereof. Wait, doesn't that mean that Hikigaya-san is an adventurer? "Thank you for taking a chance on a goddess such as her."

"That's not really…." Once again, Hikigaya squirmed where he stood. Just like most of our kinsmen, it seemed that he too had trouble dealing with praise. "It's not like kami were throwing themselves at me to join their familia either, so it's not like I had much of a choice."

"Still, it made her very happy, especially since you were the one to—"

"—Ah, customer-san, I'm back!" Before my kami-sama could finish speaking, a familiar voice called out to us and drew our attention. I turned to face where it was coming from and was immediately taken aback to see Yoneya Daini, the rice stand's owner's daughter, running towards us with her arms full with a wooden crate. She stopped when her eyes fell upon me and my kami-sama. "Yamato-chan and Takemikazuchi-sama? Ah, are you two here to buy rice as well?"

Hikigaya opened his mouth, but Takemikazuchi-sama spoke before he could. "Oh, Yoneya-chan!" I frowned at how the kami smiled at the girl. "It's great to see you again." My frown deepened at the pink that dusted her cheeks, as it always did. "Please don't mind us for now. We can speak after you finish tending to Hikigaya-kun."

"Hikigaya-kun?" Yoneya-chan gave my kami-sama a confused look before glancing at the aforementioned boy, who had been doing the same, and jumping in realization. "Oh, right! Customer-san! It was three bowls of rice, correct?"

Hikigaya's gaze lingered on my kami-sama before he turned to face Yoneya and nodded. At that, the girl shot back behind the counter and got to work. I thought that would be the end of things for the time being, but as she scooped rice out of the sack, she began to speak to Takemikazuchi-sama. He tried to deny her that, but she waved off his worries and assured him that she was 'very good at multitasking.'

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes at that. How unprofessional….

"Well, if you insist." Unfortunately, as always, Takemikazuchi-sama was more than happy to oblige. "How has your father been doing? Is he still ill?"

Yoneya's face suddenly fell at that, which told me that my kami-sama had unexpectedly stepped on a trap. "Oh, he's been getting better." She poured the last bowl of Hikigaya's order into a sack and tied it closed with a length of twine. "Although, we're going to run out of his medicine soon and business has been slow." She put the sack onto the counter with a frustrated sigh. "I'm sure not having some for a little isn't going to kill him, but it'd be nice if he got better sooner. I'm perfectly alright at running this stand, but I don't have the pull with our suppliers that he does. He knew the best ways to get them to drop their prices."

Hearing Yoneya's story made me clench my fists so hard that I was worried that my nails would dig through the leather of my gloves. I would've liked to say that I believed her completely; that I felt pity for her and wanted to help her with all my heart; that the anger rising within me was aimed towards those who'd be despicable enough to take advantage of her in such a dire situation. However, that wasn't the case at all. My anger was directed at the sinkhole that opened up inside me. The one borne from the small part of me that couldn't help but question the validity of her story, even when I knew that I had no reason to do so.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Takemikazuchi-sama had no problem believing the rice vendor and the pit in my stomach grow even deeper. Coming down from heaven, the kami didn't have many powers, but one of the few they did have was the ability to tell if people are lying to them. "If there's anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate in telling me."

"Oh no, there's no need, Takemikazuchi-sama!" Yoneya raised her hands up to wave off my kami-sama's concerns. "We'll find a way to get through this. My dad and I always do!" She smiled and I felt despicable. "I do appreciate the gesture, though."

"…There must be something we can do." My mouth moved faster than my mind could stop it. It moved to satiate my guilt, not my kindness. My head sunk. I didn't deserve the right.

"Again, thank you, but my father and I will be alright. You two continuing to be customers does more than enough— Oh wait, Hikigaya-san!" Eyes closed, Yoneya turned towards the boy and let out a sheepish chuckle, her hand reaching out to the sack with his order in it. "I'm sorry for making you wait. I got completely caught up…."

I became confused when Yoneya suddenly stopped speaking. Her reason for doing so became readily apparent when I turned towards Hikigaya and found him gone. My mind raced to understand how he managed to sneak away without notice, but then my earlier assessment of him came to mind and I quickly pieced things together. Checking the counter to confirm my suspicions, I found that I had once again assumed wrong, though this time not entirely.

The bag of rice that Hikigaya had been waiting for was gone, but in its place was a stack of coins that were worth far more than three bowls of rice.

* * *

Once upon a few months ago, my old homeroom teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka, once asked the class to fill out a flyer that would help the school get a better grasp of what career we wanted to pursue once we graduated. Being the optimistic and hopeful person that I am (lol), I put down 'house husbandry' as my dream career, believing it to be the best way to avoid the ever-present and looming danger of corporate slavery. Plus, it came with the added bonus of pissing off Hiratsuka-sensei and that never got old, even though getting punched in the stomach did.

The pain from said punches would always make me momentarily loathe past Hachiman for opening up about his hopes and dreams like an idiot, and even now, a whole universe away from Hiratsuka-sensei and her rocket fists, I still found myself cursing past me. The only difference was the person doing the punching. Their name? A cruel mistress known as 'Reality.'

House husbandry sucked. It's shit. A blatant scam. 0/10, would never use to piss off my homeroom teacher again.

My reasoning for this sudden change in stance? The logic behind it was actually very simple. A lot of _work_ went into doing what a house husband does, doing any _work_ meant _losing_, and _losing_ always _sucked_. Hence, my earlier statement.

Granted, to be fair to house husbandry and my past self, the thought that I would have to fulfill the duties associated with the job, such as cooking, after spending several grueling hours killing monsters in a dungeon never occurred to me. Then again, how could it?

_Bah, whatever…._ I didn't want to think about it any further, so I shifted my focus back to the scene around me.

"I-Is something wrong, Hikigaya-san?" The bright-eyed and bushy-tailed main character stutters out in concern. His face shows clear worry and the camera is zoomed in on it to avoid showing the audience what he's talking about, but comedic music is playing in the background so the audience knows that nothing seriously bad is happening.

"No." The camera then pans over to the face of the main character's dead-eyed and ever downtrodden party member, who the audience can tell is clearly lying and something is, in fact, bothering him. "Why would you say that?"

"You poked at that piece of firewood really hard." Cue zoom out to reveal the full scene.

Bell Cranel, your standard light novel protagonist, and Hikigaya Hachiman, the antithetical secondary protagonist who is meant to contrast the overly bright personality of the former, are both back in the ruined top level of their abandoned church home. In front of them is a fire with a large, beat-up metal pot sitting a few feet over it. The former is carrying a bundle of firewood, meaning to add it to the pile sitting next to the latter, who is sitting crouched in front of the fire and poking at it with a stick.

One is gloomy because of a dark thought from their past, the other is worried because of said gloom. Blah, blah, blah. This scene is so cliche that I don't even need to think hard to imagine it. How sickening.

"I was trying to kill the flame a bit." Not really caring to play along with the bit only I was aware of, I gave my familia a somewhat truthful answer and continued to poke at the wood until I accomplished my goal. "Water needs to be simmering."

"'Simmering'?" Ah, right. I forgot that Cranel's never had to cook a thing in his life. A part of me wanted to criticize him for being so irresponsible, but I wasn't much better on that front either. I didn't know how to cook at all outside of scrambled eggs and curry, and I had only ever learned to cook those two because Komachi, my little sister, was too young to learn and corporate slave parents couldn't feed you when they were never home. The day Komachi started to learn to cook, I decided my efforts were no longer necessary and hung up my apron for good. Besides, she was far better at it anyways. Ah, I bet that earned me a bunch of Komachi points~! "What's that?"

I stood up and used the stick in my hand to tap the lid of the pot. "You see how it's bubbling a lot less now? That's simmering. We have to leave it like this until all the vegetables are cooked."

"Oh, alright…." The news that eating would have to wait even further must've frustrated Cranel's stomach, as it growled loudly after hearing it. Its owner let out an embarrassed chuckle and started to scratch at his cheek. "H-How much longer until it's done?"

Scoffing, I turned my head to face Cranel. "Shouldn't be much longer. At the very least, Hestia-sama should be back before it's—"

"—Why is there smoke coming from our roof?!" With an all too familiar yell, the doors to the Hestia familia's home were forced opened with a loud, strained creak that meant that they were hardly being opened at all. I didn't need to glance over to know who it was, but I did so anyway. Speak of the big-boobed loli goddess and she shall appear, I guess. "Did something happen? Was there a fire? Are you two alright?"

Turning to face said doors, I found the namesake of our familia trying and struggling to squeeze through a gap in the giant slabs of wood, the biggest obstacles in her way being a blanket-covered basket of potato croquettes and _her_ namesakes.

"Oh, Hestia-sama, you're back!" Cranel, being Cranel, didn't hesitate in running over to provide our kami aid and I, knowing my familia's archetype well enough, decided to not bother and conserve energy. One might call my actions uncouth, lazy, and ungentlemanly, but in reality, I was just— "Everything's alright! Hikigaya-san and I were just cooking dinner—"

Before either Cranel or I could finish our respective thoughts, we were interrupted by a flag being raised. Not literally, of course. More in the fashion of a big-boobed loli goddess falling forwards and tumbling into the albino teen, somehow managing to knock him over despite him being an adventurer with a falna and her being a full 30 centimeters shorter than us. Once again, the power of phys-tits really trumped all. Even logic and actual physics.

What resulted was yet another reason for me to believe that Cranel was this story's main protagonist. Only the main protagonist could move to help a girl and inexplicably end up with a face full of fanservice, and live to tell the tale. A part of me wanted to feel envious, but a smarter part of me reminded myself of the fact that no such leeway would be given to me if our positions were switched.

Instead, I let out a sigh and trudged over to my fallen familia. By the time I reached them, they had recovered enough to realize their positions and panic. Correction, Cranel was panicking. Hestia-sama, on the other hand, smiled so wide and perverse that it'd make an ugly bastard worry.

Oi, Hestia-sama, please stop smiling like that. You're making me question the form of media this world resides in. If my worries are confirmed, please understand that I won't hesitate to throw myself off a cliff out of shame and fear. Thank you for listening.

All of that mental admonishing would, however, fall on deaf ears because when Hestia-sama finally noticed my presence looming over her, she simply gave me a cheeky thumbs up. I rolled my eyes at that and reached my hand down towards her, but instead of taking it, she just stared at if the concept of a hand was something alien to her.

"Eh?" Oi, what's with that confusion? You're acting like its entirely out of my nature to do something like this. Do you think that badly of me, Hestia-sama? I'm pretty sure that's grounds for me to claim workplace abuse, y'know?

"What do you mean 'eh'? I'm trying to help you up. Just take it." Not wanting to look at my abuser any longer, I turned my head away from her. "Cranel's going to suffocate if you smother him like that for much longer."

In response to that, Hestia-sama let out a 'fufufu' so haughty that it made me consider outright rescinding my offer. I chose not to, as I knew that it would ultimately prove her point, but the thought remained at the back of my mind, even as she took my hand in her own.

"Oho, what's this? Hachi-kun is finally treating his kami like he should? I'm gone for a few hours and my wayward child has grown this much? To miss such development! I'm such a bad kami-sama!" Ha, nice try, but if you're gonna do that bit, you're gonna have to use it on someone who isn't a seasoned big brother. Plus, Komachi was much better at it than you anyways. "You're already insulting me in your head?!"

"Nope," I lied and turned to make my way back to the pot of simmering curry behind me, knowing full well that she could tell that I was lying. "You still alive, Cranel?"

"I-I'm okay, Hikigaya-san!" Cranel's response gave me enough pause to actually stop and glance back to check on him. Normally, after a fanservice scene like that, the protagonist would be sounding dumber than a rock, slurring his words together and just plain acting like he saw the true face of God. Instead, Cranel was having a coughing fit, almost as if he was more concerned over not being able to breathe than he was getting a face full of plot! He didn't even have the decency to look flustered! What type of light novel protagonist are you?! "Thank you for asking."

"Oh, so that's what that smoke coming from the roof was?" Hestia-sama asked, her voice making me blink like an owl as it was no longer coming from where it was. "You two were cooking something?" Putting one and two together, I turned towards the fire and found that the kami had at some point made her way over to it, now looking down into the pot to study its contents. She needed to be on the tips of her toes to do so. That made me want to laugh. "Oh, I've seen this before! It's called curry, right?"

"Yeah, it was Hikigaya-san's idea." Having stood himself up and next to me at some point, Cranel answered our kami's question. Oi, what are you doing answering for me, Cranel? I swear, you better follow up with something good if you want to eat tonight. "He thought you'd appreciate the change of pace."

…Huh. Good job, Cranel. You actually managed to avoid saying something that'd get us in trouble. I totally thought you'd—

"Aww, my children are so thoughtful!" Moving faster than a speeding bullet, Hestia-sama was upon the two of us in a blink of an eye, wrapping her arms around our midsections as she threw herself into us. Earlier, the albino was unable to withstand the sheer kinetic force of the big-boobed loli, but with two of us to share the load, we were able to remain standing. "Working hard in the dungeon all day and then taking the time to surprise me with dinner! I have to be the luckiest kami-sama in the world."

One might assume that hearing my kami's praise would make me feel guilty, as I had only really brought up the idea of cooking for selfish reasons, but that wasn't the case at all! If anything, I actually felt quite relieved. Things were going much better than I first thought they would. Knowing what type of character Cranel was, I had fully expected him to have let slip about the minotaur attack by now, which would've led to yet another lecture that I didn't want to sit through, but by some miracle, he hadn't done so yet!

_It seems that you have some self-preservation instincts after all, Cranel! _That thought came as a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one (lol). _We may actually be able to get our stats updated without having to talk about_—

"Well, actually, about that, Hestia-sama…." …Goddammit, Cranel.

…

When Cranel told Hestia-sama of our run in with the minotaur, I expected the worst to come out of it would be a lecture. That, however, turned out to be an extreme underestimation of how terrifying my kami-sama could be when she wanted. She wasn't the Greek goddess of home and hearth, she was a monster - a monster in a skimpy dress!

"Mou…." Hestia-sama, please stop. I understand that you're mad at me, but could be mad at me _after_ you finish updating my stats? A teenage boy can't have a fanservice character such as yourself sitting on his exposed back for this long. It's just not healthy! "Mou…."

Every second that I spent under my kami felt like its own eternity, and for each one of those eternities, I had to fight to keep from squirming. Squirming would only lead to her shifting and her shifting would lead to me noticing how soft her thighs— Stop it, brain! You are doing the exact opposite of helping!

One might assume that at this point, after having to have this song and dance happen almost every day for about two weeks, I should be somewhat used to this. And really, what was she even doing outside of making that noise and sitting on my back?

To address the first point, I'm a loner for crying out loud. I spent my entire life being a loner. The last time someone outside my family touched me this much was when Yuigahama fixed my hair and I felt horribly uncomfortable then! Of course having a literal goddess straddling my back would lead to such an adverse reaction.

In regards to that second point, the fact that she was making the noise at all told me that she was doing so with a purpose. Every other time she's updated my stats, there wouldn't be a single sound made. She would update my stats and I would lie there until she was done, and thankfully that's all that would ever happen, so her making that noise over and over again could only mean that I was right. She's doing all of this to make me suffer! There couldn't be any other reason!

Truly, my kami was a cruel, cruel mistress.

"Mou…" I let out a relieved sigh the moment I felt the piece of paper stuck to my back get peeled off, as it signalled that my torture was finally coming to an end. Haha, you thought that much could break me, woman? You dare look down on the resilience of a seasoned loner, such as I? How dare you? My entire life is spent feeling uncomfortable around others! "There, I'm finished."

Relief flooded me when I heard those words come out of her mouth, but as I tried to push myself up, I realized that I wasn't free from my chains quite yet.

"…"

"…"

"Hestia-sama…?"

"Hm? Did you want something, Hikigaya-kun?"

"I thought you said that you were finished?"

"Hmph, I am finished. Weren't you listening to me?"

"Then, shouldn't you be getting off of me right about now?"

Our last exchange was a familiar one. It's one I've seen play out in several anime, manga, and light novels alike. Usually, it was backed with light-hearted music and was meant to be humorous, as to break up tension that existed between two characters who were clearly at odds.

Knowing that, naturally, my first instinct was to push the conversation down a similar road. However, I failed to take one thing into account, or rather, it had been staring me in the face ever since I first woke up in Orario and I just never took it seriously until now.

There was no music playing in the background to mask how incredibly awkward things were. Hestia-sama couldn't be drawn as a chibi, moe-blob to buffer how mad she actually was. All that existed in this room were two things: a goddess who had been wronged and the one who wronged her, desperately trying to escape the guilt that would make him face the thought that lurked at the back of his mind.

Just because the world around me seemed like something out of a light novel, that didn't mean that I actually existed in one.

No matter how much they embodied the character tropes I was so familiar with, Hestia and all those around me were still real people with actual emotions, and when real people were actually angry, things like this couldn't be blown over with a shitty comedy bit.

Fortunately, being a real-life person myself, I wasn't unused to situations like this.

Back in my old world, I had found myself at the center of many of them, usually with Komachi. I knew how to fix situations like this. Each and every time something like this happened, the solution would always be the same: I needed to admit my mistake, apologize, and talk things out to try and find some sort of conclusion.

That being said, it did make me question why I should even bother. It's not like I was obligated to do so and, while I was somewhat at fault for Cranel and I even being in a position to get attacked, it was by no means actually my fault.

By all means, I could just force Hestia-sama off me and end the conversation right there, but then again, what would I achieve by doing that? She and I lived under the same roof, in the same room and until that changed, it'd be easier for me to just get this over and done with now.

Besides, this was all starting to feel way too familiar….

Taking in a deep breath through my nose, I turned my head to my left so that I was facing the couch's back and did what I needed.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" The apology left my mouth more strained than I would've preferred, but then again, it's not like I wanted to be doing this in the first place. "I shouldn't have tried to hide what happened earlier from you."

"Eh?" 'Eh?' Again with the 'eh'? This is the second time we've done this bit today! "Hachi-kun actually apologized?"

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I made a makeshift pillow out of my arms and buried my head into it, hoping that I would be able to smother myself in it. I knew that I couldn't, but that wouldn't stop me from trying. "I know how to apologize when I do something stupid, y'know? Please don't lump me in with stubborn idiots like Cranel, like that ever again, kami-sama. You'll hurt my feelings."

"You're the stubborn idiot here!" There was a huff and suddenly the weight on my back disappeared, allowing me to finally sit up. Almost immediately as I did so, something small and pale appeared from out of the corner of my eye. I turned towards it and felt something hit me right between the eyes, making me flinch back. "At least Bell-kun has the sense to mention that he was almost killed by a minotaur today!"

Rubbing the spot in which I was hit with the palm of my hand, I glared at the tiny kami kneeling on the couch cushion next to me, who glared right back at me with the poutiest of all pouts splitting her face.

I had just been flicked.

Fortunately, it didn't hurt at all thanks to the tattoo on my back, but that did not and would not stop me from being annoyed! The principle of things demanded it!

Still, I kept any and all grumbling to myself, knowing full well that I was in no position to protest Hestia-sama's punishment for my idiocy.

Seeing that I would offer no retort to her cruel and unusual punishment, the scantily-clad goddess let out another huff and plopped herself down right where she knelt, eyes closed and arms crossed. "Look, I understand your reason for not wanting to tell me, but I'm your kami-sama! You should feel comfortable enough to tell me these things. I may worry about you two a lot, but I can handle it!"

"'My reasons?'" Her tone elicited both confusion and a bit of disgust within me. "When did I ever—?"

"—It's just like how I said, I'm your kami-sama!" Before I could even realize that I was looking away from Hestia-sama, the sudden interruption ripped my attention back towards her. "And you're my child. Because of that, I'll always understand you much better than you'll ever know."

Given her divine status and the fact that I was still unsure of what abilities her kind actually possessed, I found it hard to outright dismiss the claim, but that didn't mean that I believed it. The only person that could even kinda make a claim like that was Komachi and I've known her for fourteen years. I've known Hestia-sama for what? Two-plus weeks maybe? So, forgive me for being somewhat skeptical, my dear kami-sama, but I currently think you're full of shit.

"Plus, you may like to think that your dark and mysterious persona of yours is impossible to crack, but you're much easier to figure out than you'd like to think." As she spoke, the kami did the impossible and made herself seem even smugger than she was before. How? She put her hands on her hips, which seemed simple in concept, but was very effective in execution.

I snorted and turned away from the ball of concentrated smug sitting next to me, coming back with the most concise and damning response I could think of, "You think you have me figured out? I'll have you know that if I had a valis for every time someone called me weird, I'd be as rich as all of the top familia combined. And being weird is basically the same as being perplexing, which, by default, means that I'm an extremely hard person to understand."

In response to my damning counter, all Hestia-sama could do was sit in silence (although I could feel her glaring daggers into the back of my head), which I took to mean as a victory for myself. Silence was basically the same as giving up, after all. Ha! Yet another person falls to the insurmountable logic of Hikigaya Hachiman, king of the loners!

"I seriously can't believe that you think that between the two of you, Bell-kun is the stubborn idiot." Oi, that's cheating! You aren't allowed to talk back after I've already claimed victory. Also, since when did you learn to speak like that? You're beginning to remind me of the time a 'friend' of mine came to my house to drop off a bunch of corn and I ran up to my mom cheering, mistakenly thinking that it was a birthday present for me and proof of our friendship. If you love your children as much as you constantly say you do, I beg you to stop speaking like that. "And to think that I ever thought you'd be the sensible one."

I clicked my tongue at the surprise counter. Not wanting to lose the argument, I turned to face my divine benefactor to continue my own offensive but found whatever I was going to say die in my throat when I saw how she was looking at me. Dammit, I should have anticipated something like this would happen. The Goddess of Hearth and Home _would _be too comfy and friendly to properly argue with.

The two of us once again fell into silence. This time, at the very least, was a lot more bearable.

…

That, however, didn't mean that I was content to have things stay like this! We were here for a reason and I still had a pot of curry waiting for me over a fire, and that curry was only there because I was hungry. I would still like to get all that out of the way as quickly as possible. Thank you very much.

"A-Anyways…." I ignored my own stuttering as I cleared my throat into my fist. "My stats?"

"Oh, right!" The diminutive kami jumped at the reminder like I had just leapt out from behind a corner to scare her. Her blue eyes shot downwards her own lap and naturally, I followed them to the piece of paper that had been sitting in her hand the entire time. She shoved it out towards me and gave me a cheeky smile. "If we factor out the time you lost because of that minotaur attack, I think that you should still be progressing at your usual pace, which is still—"

"—Far better than the usual newbie." Already knowing what my level up character was going to tell me, I cut her off as to save me from hearing it again. "Yeah, yeah, my ability is really strong and really rare, and you're really happy I have it. Don't worry, I get it. You don't have to remind me every time you update my stats."

"Mou…" Oops, looks like I got her acting all grumpy again. At least now I could laugh at her anger like how I always do. "Would you at least let me be proud of you? Someone with a skill like yours doesn't come around very often, y'know?"

I rolled my eyes and took the paper she was holding out to me. "Whoever said that you couldn't? Not me. My skill is very powerful and I'm extremely proud of it. Just find a way of doing it that doesn't make me feel you're about to parade me around to all of your kami friends."

Hestia-sama let out another 'hmph' and crossed her arms over her fan-service ribbon, grumbling softly to herself. I smirked at that and turned my attention towards the paper in my hand, scanning through its contents with my eyes. It wasn't a very labor intensive process, especially since years of playing RPGs had trained my eyes to filter out any filler text and just focus on the numbers, which were the only things that really mattered.

Power, endurance, dexterity, agility, and magic? Don't you mean strength, constitution, skill, speed, and intelligence? Why did I need to know the actual names of the stat pools when they all pretty much served the same function in the end? This world was clearly based on an RPG, which one I wasn't sure of as it was probably more of a mix of several, and all RPG-based worlds ripped the same core systems off from one another, making it so that authors don't actually have to explain it in any great detail. Hence, at most, all I needed to know was in what order they appeared on the page and muscle memory could do the rest.

True to Hestia-sama's word, my stats did increase quite a bit. Not as much as they would've if that minotaur didn't interrupt Cranel and I's descent down to the fifth floor, but that was to be expected. Only after around two weeks of being an adventurer, all of my basic abilities save for magic were already close to hitting F-rank, which apparently, according to both Hestia-sama and Tulle, was growth at an unprecedented pace.

That 'unprecedented pace' was most surely entirely due to the overpowered skill that appeared when I first received my falna, Sokudoku. Apparently, it was one of a kind, though I could only base that on Hestia-sama saying that she had never seen anything like it before. Not only was it one of a kind, however. It was also extremely overpowered.

Upon first seeing it and finding out what it actually entailed, it made me wonder if I was, in fact, the protagonist of this series. Taken from another world? Check. Starts out with extremely overpowered skill? Check. My biggest benefactor is a cute girl with strange proportions and a singular weird fashion quirk? Check.

All of the pieces lined up, but then, I realized. Who would ever make or read an entire series where someone like me is the protagonist? Your standard light novel protagonist needed to be a stubborn idiot who cares about others and puts their well being over their own, while also having the ability to bring people together. I wasn't any of those things, so logic dictated that there was no way I could be the main character!

Me failing to meet all of the other requirements quickly fell into place. Me starting out with an overpowered skill? The skill itself, while extremely overpowered, wasn't general enough to be that of a true main character. A skill where the MC would be able to grow at a much faster rate than those around them would be more fitting and while, my skill was helping me increase my stats quickly, that wasn't its main purpose. What about the fanservice mascot character? I wasn't the first to join her familia.

Cranel, however, fulfilled all of those criteria. Although, I still couldn't really explain the whole getting ripped away from my own world part, but I'm sure there's going to be some sort of bullshit explanation to make sense of that later. Anyways, I was straying further and further away from my point.

That point being that, yes, I may be overpowered, but I definitely wasn't the protagonist.

Speaking of the rabbit trapped in the body of a human, there was still a question on my mind. "How has Cranel been doing?"

"Oh, Bell?" Nani? No effect? I was sure mentioning your favorite child would stop you from being so angry. It's always worked before, so it suddenly not working threw me off. "He's doing fine, I guess."

"Eh? Did something happen between you two?" Clearly, Cranel did something to piss her off, but I was at a loss as to what it could be. His soft, fluffy protagonist nature decreased attack stats upon contact, so it must've been something significant. Then again, when I had him take over watching the curry, he looked no different, so Hestia-sama still might just be angry at me or was mad at him, but all because of something I did. Yeah, that was the most likely answer. It was more reasonable than the two actually being at odds, anyways.

"Hmph, no, nothing at all! I'm totally not mad at him for whatever happened between him and Wallen-whatshername—"

"—Hestia-sama, Hikigaya-kun!" Probably sensing that he was being talked about with his bullshit protagonist powers, Cranel came crashing through the door to the basement, the makeshift wooden spoon that I used to stir the curry in hand. Still, his interruption didn't make me forget about whatever our kami was alluding to. Something about a 'Wallen'? Was she talking about Ais Wallenstein, the woman who saved Cranel from the minotaur? Did another flag get raised while I wasn't looking? The only time they were even in the same room was when then, so when did this even happen?! "I think the curry is done!"

I let out a sigh and shook my head free from the thoughts. If the problem was just Cranel adding another girl to his prospective harem then it was essentially not a problem at all, considering that this was going to happen a lot more in the future. Refocusing on the current issue of my very empty stomach, I raised my brow at the albino and asked, "Did you poke at the vegetables to make sure that they were soft like how I told you?"

"Yep!" My familia nodded his head with the enthusiasm of a child. He looked like one too. His hands were raised up to shoulder level and his eyes were all wide and brimming with happiness and excitement. I was sure that, if there was ever an illustration of this exchange, little stars would be coming off of him. "Oh, ah— Are you finished updating Hikigaya-san's stats, Hestia-sama? I didn't mean to interrupt if I did."

"No, we just finished up." I snorted at the mental image and stood up from the couch. Of course, this cutesy filler scene took precedence over anything that happened between me and Hestia-sama. "Come on, let's go eat. I'm starving."

Next to me, Hestia-sama stood up as well, although she giggled instead. Hm? Not angry anymore all of a sudden? Talk about a quick turn around. "Hehe, I can't wait to try my children's cooking! Bell-kun helped make it so it has to be delicious!"

"Ah, but all I really did was cut up some vegetables." Hand scratching at his cheek, Cranel tried to deflect our kami's praise like the dense, idiot protagonist he was. Unfortunately for you, Cranel, that red on your cheeks betrays any humility you think you're showing. If you're gonna steal my thunder by existing, at least feel bad about it. "Hikigaya-san was the one who did most of the work."

"Just take the praise, Cranel." Being too hungry to listen to these two trade raised flags like stand powered fists, I simply dismissed my familia's dismissal and began to make my way out of the basement. "You're wasting time that we could be using eating."

Besides, it's not like I needed to be praised anyways.

…

Mornings in the Hestia Famila household typically went the same way. Cranel woke up, then he woke me up, and then we got all our equipment together and made the trek out to the dungeon. Today started out no different, although the method in which my party member went about the second step was new.

Cranel and general loudness were two things that I closely associated with one another, so being ripped from glorious slumber by him suddenly screaming was probably something I should've anticipated happening eventually.

From the clear fear that was present in the shriek, two possible explanations popped into my mind. Either he just woke up from some sort of nightmare or Hestia-sama had snuck into his bed, which was actually a couch, sometime during the night. Given our kami's clear jealousy last night, the latter seemed like the most obvious answer, but then again, Cranel did almost get killed yesterday so—

"Bell-kun, not so loud…." —Yeah, it was foolish of me to assume that anything else could be the answer. Two instances of fan service in less than twenty four hours. Whoever's been writing this series must've really turned their shame dials all the way down to zero, huh? "I'm still trying to sleep."

Naturally, I felt inclined to agree with my kami-sama, but then the hard floor under me reminded me of my desperate need to make money. To do that, unfortunately, I actually needed to get out of bed. Is this what my parents always had to deal with? This torturous tug of war between body and mind? I suddenly felt sick. Despite it, I did my best to convince my body to get up and face the day.

One might think that a red-blooded, testosterone-filled young man such as myself would find a job based entirely in killing monsters to be more enjoyable, and that person would be right. No doubt, going into the dungeon, killing monsters, and devising better ways to kill those monsters was much more enjoyable than any of the part time jobs I had back in my old world. Rate wise, it even paid much better too. Contrary to popular belief though, having a reason to get up in the morning didn't make doing so any easier, especially for a creature of habit such as myself.

I did get up eventually, however, and when I did, I drug my lifeless corpse of a body to our supply closet and went about my usual morning ablutions. Ignore exchange going on between Cranel and Hestia-sama; brush teeth with weird brush, branch thing; and finish by getting my gear together. Simple. Easy. Done within five or ten minutes.

Being the newbie I was, I didn't have much in terms of equipment and most of what I did have was provided to me by the Guild. Most of it was mundane stuff like pouches that I used to carry essential items such as potions, those went on first due to all of the stupid belts I needed to fasten, and a backpack to hold all of my earnings and any equipment I didn't need quick access to, that always went on last. In between were all the much more interesting pieces of gear like my weapons and armor. Same story as all of my other gear, although I was given a bit of freedom on this front as I had received the whole 'choose your class' spheal from Tulle.

Remembering that conversation always brought a smile to my face. I'm not some hapless pup like Cranel, you glorified tutorial screen! He may have listened to your advice, but I knew better than to let anyone box me into a corner. I always picked the option that gave me the most options, even if that left me with nothing more than a dagger and chestplate to start out with.

Still, just like all early game tutorials, while most of it ended up being useless drivel to the experienced player, there was still _some_ useful information. Something about me having great potential with a bow and other ranged weapons. So what if I spent that night looking for a bendy enough tree branch and a good enough string? Even a broken clock is right twice a day, y'know? That didn't mean anything.

Satisfied with remembering how I had totally won that argument, I went about putting all of my gear. Dagger clipped to belt, chestpiece slipped on and fastened tight to chest, backpack on back, and makeshift bow was slung over my shoulder for ready use. Good. Everything was where it was supposed to be.

The same, however, could not be said about a certain protagonist, who still hadn't managed to find a way to slip himself out from under our kami-sama. I wanted to sigh and shake my head, but that would totally discount the strength of our familia's namesake. Well, the strength of women lying on top of you in general. As a seasoned big brother, I knew that the only way to get a woman dead set on using you as a cushion to get off you and it was basically the equivalent of trying to steal treasure from a slumbering dragon. Your safest bet was to hope they got disinterested enough to leave. Ganbatte, Cranel, but you no longer have free will! I must leave you to your fate.

"Ah, Hikigaya-san, are you going ahead?" 'Going ahead'? Well, that's certainly a much nicer way of asking if I was abandoning you. Thanks for prettying it up for me, Cranel! It makes me seem like less of a scumbag.

"Yeah, I'll meet you at the dungeon, Cranel." Already being at the foot of the stairs, I stopped and raised my hand over my shoulder as a half-assed wave, before heading up them. "Oh, and don't get swindled by any cute girls while we're apart!"

The noise that Cranel made as I closed the door behind me made me chuckle. Too easy.

…

"Oh, you're that adventurer from earlier! You came! Oh, and you brought a friend."

"Y-Yeah…."

"Oi, Cranel." I looked away from the cute, grey-haired girl standing in front of us to glare at Cranel. Due to him being slightly in front of me, his face wasn't visible, but I could tell that he knew he fucked up. The deaf idiot was standing stiff as a board. "Didn't I tell you to do something before I left for the dungeon this morning?"

I waited for him to answer, but all I got was a sheepish chuckle. Yeah, yeah, try and laugh the guilt away now, Cranel, but you won't be laughing later when I force you to pay for my half of the bill. Just look at their prices next to the door! Look at them, suffer and apologize to your wallet, because you won't be leaving with a valis to your name!

_Stop_. Decisively, tonight wasn't going like I expected at all.

After putting in another long day's work, I just wanted to drag my tired, aching body to the Guild to cash in my crystals and go home to get my stats updated. Both of those steps were accomplished as per usual, but then, after Hestia-sama updated Cranel's stats, she stormed out all of a sudden, looking really angry! Now, on Cranel's recommendation, we were standing in front of _The Hostess of Fertility_ with empty stomachs and a cute barmaid inviting us in.

This all reeked of plot. Not the sarcastic, jokey kind that was uttered with extra emphasis, but the literal kind. Almost as if everything lined up perfectly to allow this to happen. My mind immediately jumped to this being the start of an actual plot line, but then I remembered my conversation with Hestia-sama last night and I shut that train of thought down. Remember Hachiman, a world that resembled a light novel, not an actual light novel.

That left me to try looking at everything in a different light. Coincidence was the easiest answer. A more nefarious subplot happening right under my nose was another, though I didn't really understand what a barmaid had to do with something like that. Then again, she'd be the last person I'd expect, so maybe there was more credence to that theory than none at all. Hm….

Alright, when all else failed, it was best to strike right down the middle. No need to make a choice right now, it's better to keep both options in mind until one side proves itself more viable.

This barmaid probably used some trick to get Cranel to talk to her and then pitched this place to him well enough to keep it in mind, might've even used an unseeming bribe to seal the deal. _Stop_. Ugh, I can't believe my dad's advice wasn't useless after all.

"I never got the opportunity to introduce myself earlier." Wooden serving tray in hand, the barmaid bowed her head in greeting before popping back up with a smile. Of course, I took it with a grain of salt. She deserved no less given her track record. Hmph, you may have fooled Cranel, but you won't trick me. My father apparently didn't raise a fool! "My name is Syr Flova."

"A-Ah, Bell Cranel."

Keeping in mind cultural differences, I made sure to introduce myself correctly. "Hachiman Hikigaya."

"You two are adventurers, right? I'm sure you two must be starving. Please come inside. Would you like at a table or the bar?"

I waited for Cranel to answer, seeing as coming here was his idea in the first place, but all he was able to get out was a strained whimper. Oi, what's with that overwhelmed reaction? Wait, is this your first time eating a restaurant like this? Then why did you think this was a good idea? Don't make me pick up the slack when this was your fuck up!

"The bar is fine, thank you." I forced myself to keep from sighing. Flova may have fooled Cranel into coming here (and therefore wasn't someone I trusted), but knowing these universes, there was a distinct chance that they may turn into love interests at some point and who was I to deny the main protagonist of that? Also, she was right. I was very hungry.

"Of course, follow me please!" With that, Flova turned and walked back into the tavern. Or was this a pub? A bar? Were all of those the same thing? Eh, whatever. Too hungry to care about semantics. Yo, body! Hurry up and follow her inside already. You're wasting time thinking.

My first step into the _Hostess of Fertility_ was an eventful one, as in I found that almost all of my senses were assaulted by stimuli the moment I stepped in. The orange glow of the candlelight that cast the dining room with a warm, healthy glow; the cheers and chatter of the other patrons as they drank their night away; and the mouth-watering smell of various kinds of food and spices wafting through the air. By all rights, this seemed like your standard fantasy tavern. Maybe except for all the cute girls in green barmaid outfits. That wasn't something I saw a lot. Then again, it's not like I've been able to eat at any restaurants in this world to begin with, so maybe it was more of a norm than I thought? Damn, what kind of degenerate-filled world did I get myself dumped into?

Something that probably wasn't normal, however, were all of the adventurers I saw as I followed Flova through the pub. The place was absolutely crawling with them. Some of them were easy to spot, like all of the ones who still had a majority of their gear on, and others weren't, but those people were easy enough to find out if you looked close enough.

I immediately felt uncomfortable realizing this, though. Have I accidentally stepped into a riajuu den?

"Here you two are!" Cheerily, our green-clad guide gestured to the bar, which was tucked behind the many rows of wood tables that littered the main floor of the restaurant, but was still clearly visible from the entrance. An older woman of around my height stood behind it, cooking from what I could tell. I assumed that she was the one in charge as she more resembled a brick wall than a human being. "Mama Mia will be the one to take your orders."

"Oho, those are two faces I haven't seen before." Over the years, I've often heard people talk about certain individuals having certain auras to them, where one could get a gauge for their personality from the first moment they met. I've met people where that was the case. The woman behind the bar, who I assumed to be Mama Mia, most definitely fit that bill. Her voice was confident, but there was a warmth and familiarity to it that screamed of the whole 'wizened with age' archetype. This wouldn't be the first time Cranel and I would be stepping foot into her tavern. That much was obvious. "Come, take a seat. I'll get your bellies full in no time."

Seeing that all the back corner seats were open, probably because they were located right next to what seemed like a supply cabinet, I made my way over and sat at the second one from the corner. Chin propped up on my hand, I waited for Cranel to get in hearing range before saying, "You pick what we eat, Cranel."

"Oh, ah, understood!" Dropping down onto the stool next to me, my familia member began frantically looking around for what I assumed was a menu. Flova, who was still standing next to him, giggled into her hand as she watched him panic. A very genuine giggle. Hm, don't you have better things to do, suspicious maid-chan? Like, your job maybe? Oh, wait. Yes! There you go! Please leave me and my familia be for the rest of the night, thank you. "Can we get two of the pastas and… um, two cups of ale please, Mama Mia-san?"

Mama Mia put her thick hands on her hips and laughed, not a full on one with her head leaned back, but a hearty one nonetheless. "No need to be so formal, kid. You can call me Mama Mia or Grande, either work fine with me."

"H-Hai, Grande-san!"

Another laugh came from Grande before she turned back towards her work station. "Two pastas and two ales then, I'll have that up for you in a second."

"Alcohol, eh?" The words left my mouth faster than I could remember that, since Orario had no real acting government and thus no laws, I didn't have to be twenty to buy myself a drink. There was no real regret in me for asking, as I did find the choice on Cranel's part to be a curious one, but this would serve as a good lesson for me in the future. "You looking to get drunk?"

"No, not really." Cranel let out an awkward chuckle as he crossed his arms on the bar and stuffed his red face into them. "Everyone else here was drinking, so I kinda just panicked and went with what everyone else was doing."

Embarrassed, huh? Well, I can't say that I don't empathize with you. Any interaction with a customer service worker was essentially a low-risk, high downside gamble, where mistakes were hard to make but a single one would lead to a memory that would stick with you for years. That's why I did my best to avoid speaking with service staff, no matter how friendly. Actually, that's why I avoided talking to people in general! Once again, my loner lifestyle reigned supreme!

"And besides, I've never really had a drink before…." I was pulled out of my monologue by Cranel's voice, which sounded muffled since he still hadn't actually taken his head out from between his arms yet. I was about to call him out on that, but he seemed to realize that on his own and turned his head to face me before I could. "My grandfather would always tell me that we'd have one together when I got older, but then he…." My familia's eyes widened as he shot up from his slouched position. "Ah, sorry, Hikigaya-san! I didn't mean to bring the mood down. Please forget all that you just heard."

It occurred to me just then, as I stared at Cranel bowing his head in apology, that we didn't know a single thing about each other. From the very first moment we met to now, a few weeks later, that hadn't changed at all. We were just two strangers who happened to join the same familia, live under the same roof, and went into the dungeon together. No more, no less.

Where we came from and what we did before all of that didn't matter, and for obvious reasons, that's how I preferred it. He never asked and never said anything, so I assumed that he felt the same way. That little slip was actually the first time he's ever broached the subject, but given how quick he was to cover it up, the intention behind it was easy to parse.

"I'm in the same boat, if that helps at all." Hmph, count yourself lucky that I'm not one to pry unnecessarily, Cranel. Also, count yourself lucky that I maxed my 'strategic subject change' skill out years ago. Truly, I was the best person in the world to come to if you didn't want to talk about your problems. "About the drinking, I mean. I haven't had a drink before either."

"A-Ah, well, if that's the case, then we'll be having our first together then, right?" As quick as a light bulb, Cranel brightened up in response to what I said. Oi, no need to sound so excited about it. You're looking way too cute for my liking. Only one boy can act that way to me and also have white hair, and you are certainly not him!

"I'm aware of the implications, Cranel." Being unable to withstand the force of the albino teen's cuteness any longer, I shifted my focus to all that was going on behind him. Wow, look at all of those barmaids. A couple of them even have cat ears. How adorable, much appealing. Look, that blonde one's an elf. That's, like, two fetishes wrapped in one! None of them mine, but still. Ah shit, she's looking my way. "By the way, watch your phrasing. People might start getting the wrong idea."

"Eh?" Huh? What's with that dumb face? Did you not get what I was— Oi, why are you blushing like that all of a sudden? That isn't helping at all! "Eh!"

Hearing Grande laugh again made me want to mimic my familia's earlier actions. Cranel dug our graves even deeper by devolving into even more of a blushing mess, which only made her laugh even more. Dammit…. Scratch what I said earlier about having to come back here, after that, I never wanted to show my face here again. Congratulations Grande, it may not have been your intention, but you and all your staff just lost all the plot relevance you were ever going to have! Have fun being regulated to b-plots and spin-off side stories!

Probably hoping to salvage whatever pride he had left, Cranel did his best to plead his innocence to the tavern cook, but unfortunately, he had already lost that long— Nope, not even going to finish thinking that sentence. Screw it, just tune this entire exchange out, Hachiman. No need to subject yourself to such punishment.

I sighed as I did my best to ignore the world around me. A part of me wanted to believe that things couldn't get worse from here, but I knew better than to trip a flag like that so blatantly. People who blindly said "the only way we can go from here is up" were naive idiots! No matter how bad a situation seems, it could always get worse, source: Hikipedia!

Hopefully, if things did end up getting worse, our food would be delicious enough to compensate.

…

Good news, me from the past, our food was delicious! The pasta was perfectly cooked and well seasoned, and the fried fish that Grande forced onto us was tender and succulent! My work weary body and empty stomach had never felt so satisfied after a meal. I could see why so many adventurers came here.

Unfortunately, good news rarely came without bad news and tonight, it came in the form of my only party member bolting out of the tavern like a wounded rabbit did from a wolf. The cause? The Loki Familia, the group of nine that came crashing through the doors of _The Hostess of Fertility_ like they owned the place. Actually, their arrival was announced by one of the staff and they had a reservation set, but that was basically the same thing. The worst part was that, considering who made up that party of eight, I couldn't even justify blaming anyone involved.

Being a newcomer to Orario, I naturally didn't know a lot about it, but just like any place, there were certain pieces of information that one picked up just by existing in it. One of those things being the food chain here and who sat atop it. Of course, nobody outright said anything, but after so many trips to the Dungeon and the Pantheon, you started to hear whispers.

Out of all the Familias mentioned, Loki was one of the more recurring names. Probably because of the fact that her current roster of adventurers had several Level 5 and above adventurers on it. The actual numbers and most of the names were still a mystery to me, but seeing as almost everyone in the _Hostess_ began whispering their praises the moment they walked in, I was forced to assume that they were all strong enough to destroy this place with a single punch. All of that being said, there was one person who's face I could place a name on.

There were very few people that I looked at and immediately thought 'perfect'. Up to just yesterday, the only person that came to mind was Yukinoshita Yukino, but that was back in my old world. Here in Orario, where almost every woman served as an unrealistic standard of beauty, I couldn't help but feel that perfect fell short of describing Ais Wallenstein.

Blonde hair, golden eyes, and a figure that made hourglasses seem unshapely; the woman that the gods dubbed as the 'Sword Princess' strode into _The Hostess of Fertility_ with the same ease and confidence that she had when she killed that minotaur yesterday.

She was as perfect a woman that I've ever met and, considering he had been gawking at her from the moment she walked in, Cranel didn't think any different.

That's probably why he had ran away like he did. Not because of her beauty, although he had done so the last time they were face to face. No, the cause was a grey-haired mutt with wolf ears, a wolf tail, and an awfully large mouth. His familia called him Bete and it seemed that, when Bete got drunk, he couldn't keep whatever he had for Wallenstein in his pants where it belonged.

Now, I didn't have anything against someone having strong feelings for another person and showing it. Kami knows that I've already heard more than enough of this world's men openly and loudly pine for women's attention by now, but Bete's version of that just happened to involve badmouthing a certain adventurer who got covered in minotaur's blood and ran away from Wallenstein as a result. All in an attempt to make himself seem like the bigger, stronger man who could be a good fit for the Sword Princess. When in reality, it only ever happened because he and his familia were incompetent enough to allow a bunch of minotaur to run to the upper floors.

Very ironic, yeah, I know, but I didn't care about that. What I did care about was Cranel, who just ran out of the tavern because of Bete's feeble attempt at sounding desirable. Probably to do something insanely dangerous, knowing his character archetype, and _that_ was something I couldn't allow.

I maybe pretty overpowered myself, but I would still need the main character's help to make it all the way to the bottom of the dungeon. And, while I was sure that plot armor would keep him alive long enough to do so, I couldn't risk him running into danger every time someone made fun of him. So, if what happened yesterday stuck in Bete's mind so much that he could recall it verbatim drunk, I would have to give him something else to remember. It was a good thing that I had being hated to a science.

_Go_.

Fortunately, most of the noise in the _Hostess_ had died down when Crane ran out. It made the sound of my stool scraping against the floor even louder, which, while my intention, was really a moot point given what came out of my mouth soon after.

…Or rather, what I had planned to come out of my mouth before I had been stopped by a certain barkeep.

"Where do you think you're going?" Just like that, whatever fire that was stirred up in me was quickly quelled by a deep chill that went down the full length of my spine. Never in my life had I heard impending doom be indirectly vocalized through words so potently. Mia Grande was someone not to be trifled with. That much was clear. "That friend of yours just up and left without a goodbye, or paying his bill, for that matter. You wouldn't be stupid enough to try and do the same, would you?"

The first thing that popped into my head was to reassure her that, no, I wasn't dumb enough to do something like that, but then every conversation I've ever had with Hiratsuka-sensei quickly flashed through my head and I thought better of it. If anything were to leave my mouth, I was much more libel to make the situation even worse for myself somehow.

Seeing as I'd rather have that not happen, I decided to do the smartest thing I could think of doing: pay the bill and leave with my tail tucked between my legs, all the while vowing to make Cranel suffer tenfold for putting me in this situation. And that's exactly what I did!

Now, that's where my time at _The Hostess of Fertility_ should've ended. All of the wind in my sails had been snatched away and the rest of the Loki Familia were stringing Bete up from the ceiling via rope. Why? I wasn't too sure, but I assumed that they had finally had enough of the mutt's barking. Regardless, I was more than ready to say 'goodbye' to this place and go see if Cranel was a big enough idiot to do what I thought he'd do, but before I could leave, I was stopped by the one key component of all of this that I had completely forgotten about.

"It's you." Just like the last and only other time we've spoke, her voice was quiet and without emotion. Almost like a robot with its voice set to the lowest possible, audible volume. Despite that, I could hear her perfectly. The rest of the world quieted down just to listen to her. Hmph, I suppose that I should've expected that from a master riajuu like her.

Ais Wallenstien, the famed Sword Princess and unwitting catalyst of Cranel's sudden exit, was standing right in the middle of the entrance, almost as if to ensure that I couldn't leave. Sure, being a business, the doorway was more than big enough to allow for the passage of more than a single person, but I had a feeling that didn't actually matter at all.

"Yeah, it's me." Hoping to get her out of my way as fast as possible, I threw her words back in her face as dismissively as possible and plastered a scowl all over my face. Surely, despite her socially inept exterior and ridiculously high level, she'd fall to the pressure of awkward social situations too, right? "Who would I be if I were anyone else?"

In response to my clear discomfort and disdain, Wallenstein tilted her head to the side and confirmed to me that I was wrong. What did I ever do in my past life to deserve all of this?

"Yeah, you wouldn't get that sorta humor, huh…? So, what do you want?" To remind her that I was a busy man who needed to go and busy himself, I nudged my chin towards the doorway behind her. "As you can see, I have to go chase after a certain someone again."

"Ah, you're right. This is very similar to what happened yesterday." Look, you're finally learning, Wallenstein! We _have_ done something like this before. So, please, allow it to end like it did yesterday and let me go on my way— "May I take up some of your time? I wish to ask you something before you leave."

—without taking up anymore of my time. Damn. I know I've made this joke way too many times already, but is there an actual esper skill floating around in Orario? I'm actually beginning to wonder now.

"Fine." Despite all the gripes that immediately popped into my mind, I bent in service to her will just as quickly. There was no way I could actually deny the Sword Princess. I was still a slave to the power chain and she sat at its apex. I doubted that she actively meant to do so, considering what I've seen of her social prowess up to this point, but that didn't mean that she wasn't leveraging her position against me. She did that just by asking and that was a far scarier proposition in my eyes. "But unless you want the whole tavern to hear what it is, I suggest we take this outside."

I had raised my voice with that last part. My earlier mention of the world quieting down wasn't another way to affirm how special Wallenstein was, there was a literal decrease in volume within _The Hostess_ after she started speaking to me. I could even see certain people glancing at me thanks to the reflection of the window next to the entrance. They moved to cover up their eavesdropping the moment I called them out on it. Tch, this is why I didn't like speaking to riajuu.

"I don't mind if other people hear if it saves time. Your answer is very important to me." Oi, what's with that awful phrasing?! Do you hear all of those people coughing behind me? They're all getting the wrong idea, you idiot! "Ah, is something wrong? Your face is all—"

"—Alright, alright, I get it!" Suddenly developing a very urgent want to leave this place, I quickly closed the distance between me and the entrance, despite Wallenstein's presence there. Coming to a stop right next to her, I nudged my head out towards the street, all the while hoping that it didn't look too strained. "Look, it may not matter to someone like you, but it does to me, alright?"

In response to my words, Wallenstein's eyes widened for a split second before eventually nodding her head. I took that as her understanding and hurried outside.

I didn't go far after I did. Only turning a corner once I descended down to street level and leaning onto the building that sat next to _The Hostess_, allowing myself to be enveloped in its shadow. My temporary companion settled on standing in the orange glow that created that darkness, at the foot of the stairs.

Seeing as she was the one who wanted to talk, I waited for Wallenstein to take the lead, but quickly realized that I would need to take the initiative when she did nothing but stare at me for ten or so seconds. I expected to feel exasperated at that, but instead, I felt worried. Mainly because I knew that any interaction where I had to take charge was more or less destined to fail. Kinda like Yuigahama and math tests, but a little less hopeless. Still, I had to try or I couldn't leave, and I really wanted to leave, so ganbatte me! Just keep fighting!

"Oi, you're the one who asked to talk, so hurry and get to talking. My looks may be above average, but that doesn't excuse you wasting time staring at it." Seeing the opportunity to mock a certain kouhai I knew, I turned my upper body to face Wallenstein and bowed my head slightly. "I'm sorry. I'm flattered since you're a high level and all, but I'm not looking to be in a relationship right now. You'll bring me nothing but trouble. Please try again never."

The blonde blinked, frowned a bit, and nodded. Heh, did I actually strike a nerve there or is she just confused? Either way, I could see why Isshiki kept repeating that to me. Seeing even that little bit of irritation crack the Sword Princess's pristine exterior was hilarious. Wait, did I just relate to Isshiki right there? Shit. Going to have to remember to jump off Babel Tower next time I get the chance. My life is over.

"Your friend…." Despite already having a feeling that the topic of conversation would lead to Cranel, I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at the sudden mention. "Why did he run away from me yesterday?"

I opened my mouth to ask her why it mattered, but stopped myself when I realized that this wasn't something that I should try and dissuade. If she had somehow developed an interest in Cranel, that was a good thing. A ridiculously powerful and perfect girl like her getting her eye caught by someone who hadn't even been an adventurer for a month? That was only something a main character could pull off! Meaning that I had to do everything in my power to make sure this happened.

Despite realizing that, however, I was still hesitant to answer the question. Not because I was suspicious or anything, but because I hadn't actually thought into the 'why' of it all. My familia just had a near-death experience, so I just chalked it up to that at the time, but now that I did think about it….

"He wants to be a hero." There was a presumptuousness to my words that made me want to cringe. In all of my time with him, those words never left his mouth specifically, but from how he acted day to day and my own assumptions of him, it felt like I was speaking the truth. That didn't make me feel any better, but it made saying it easier. "You know, the kind you read about in fairytales?" All I got from Wallenstein was a blank expression, so I continued on with my nonsense. "A fairytale hero wants to be strong, be loved, and save damsels, all of that sort of stuff. So, if I had to guess, he was probably just embarrassed."

"'Embarrassed'?" The blonde added a sideways head tilt to her blank expression, but her golden eyes widened before I could explain. "Does it have anything to do with what Bete was talking about earlier?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but found myself hesitating to say anything. It wasn't that I was at a loss for words or anything, there was just something that was keeping me from saying what I wanted to say. What's this? A conscious? Me? Preposterous! I have no sense of right and wrong. All I knew was wrong! I was the epitome of being wrong. Wait….

Well, whatever. If my mouth didn't want to comply, I wasn't about to force it. Besides, I was already burning moonlight as it was and since she's here, might as well try and raise a flag for Cranel's sake. You're lucky that I care about you achieving your main character status!

"Look, I have an idiot to run after." I stepped off of the wall I was leaning on and stuffed my hands into my pockets. Well, I wanted to, but since pants in this world apparently didn't come with them as a standard feature, I had to settle on slipping my thumbs into the hem of my pants. "If you're so curious about him, you should just ask him yourself."

I expected some sort of pushback, but all Wallenstein gave me was a nod of the head. "Of course. Might I ask for your assistance on the matter then?"

Once again, the Sword Princess said something that gave me pause. A part of me wanted to agree and set the two up on some sort of pseudo date, but then I remembered who I was talking to. She was one of the most powerful people in the world and Cranel was just a newbie. Her talking to me drew the attention of the entire _Hostess_, so there was no doubt in my mind that they'd receive the same treatment if they were seen out together.

Just like all things in life, I couldn't rush into it thinking that everything was going to be alright. That sort of stuff was more up Cranel's alley. I needed to approach this with some modicum of caution.

"I'm not your messenger boy, Wallenstein." I shot her a withering glare before I started walking towards where I knew Cranel headed. "Orario isn't that big. I'm sure you'll run into each other again eventually."

I wasn't looking Wallenstein's way as I passed by her, so I didn't get to see her reaction, but I hoped that it wasn't too negative. Not because I was worried that I hurt her feelings or anything, but because I didn't want to piss her off. If I was right, we were going to be seeing a lot of each other in the future.

…

Most of the knowledge that I accumulated in my world served little to no purpose here in Orario. That much should've been obvious given my lifestyle, but fortunately, not all of it was a complete waste. I had sunk more than a reasonable amount of time playing RPGs and other video games, and Orario was still clearly based on an RPG, meaning that there were systems present for me to abuse and exploit for my benefit.

There was no bigger example of this than the monsters that spawned inside the dungeon. If one wasn't aware of these sorts of systems, they might be inclined to see them as actual living creatures with a free will and mind of their own, but that was entirely false. Sure, they moved around life-like enough, but in the end, they were lifeless beings whose only drive was to kill people and get stronger so they could kill even more people. Basically, they were only slightly better than mobs in a video game and figuring out how to abuse those was easy.

Take the five goblins charging at me as an example. I had run into my fair share of them over the past couple weeks and over that time, I was able to make note of a lot of their tendencies; such as, how they usually spawned in packs and their penchant for ambush tactics. They also tended to jump at enemies all at once when they got close.

Of course, I planned to use that against them.

Unfortunately, however, that was much easier said than done. While knowing all that was good, that didn't make me some sort of min-maxing, cold-hearted chess master. I was just your average teenage slacker. Sure, I wasted an inordinate amount of my free time playing video games and consuming trashy fantasy-based content, and that helped me in certain ways, but none of that changed the fact that most of my life had been spent in domesticity.

When I woke up in Orario, the closest thing to actual combat that I ever experienced was an impromptu judo match that I bullshitted my way through. The most physical exertion I had ever done was sprinting half a race to catch up to a guy who was power jogging. If I were to have gotten into a fist fight back in my world, I undoubtedly would've gotten my ass kicked handedly.

The falna on my back and two weeks of grinding in the dungeon gave me above average physical attributes, and that helped cover up a lot of what I initially lacked, but even then, there was more to fighting than just being fast and strong. If a goblin were to pounce at me when I didn't expect it, despite my increased reaction time, it'd still get the jump on me. That's where _Sokudoku_ came in handy.

_Go_.

Going back to the goblins that were attacking me for a second, if I didn't have _Sokudoku_, I wouldn't have been able to go on this lengthy monologue. How did a skill whose name literally translated to 'speed read' let me do that? The answer was actually quite simple, if not rather contrived.

Reading being something I did quite often before waking up in Orario, I had long since perfected the art of speed reading. In the time the average person needed to fully comprehend a single sentence, I had already skimmed through and gotten the gist of the entire page! _Sokudoku_ basically operated on the same principle, but amplified to a bullshit degree and transferred over to everything else in my vision. Admittedly, that didn't actually say a lot about what the skill did and why it was useful, but it was one of those things that was much easier for me to demonstrate than actually explain.

Since I was running at the group of goblins full speed, it took no time at all for me to get close enough for them to start trying to pounce on me and the moment the two in front left their feet, I activated _Sokudoku_.

_Stop_. With that mental command, the world slowed down dramatically, but since I was in motion when I activated the skill, it didn't come to a halt. Still, it provided me with more than enough time to look at all of my enemies and come up with a plan before I thought, _Go_.

Hop right mid-run to get proper angle, plant right foot into the ground, and drive off it to explode with a power swing with knife. Lead two are dead with a single slice. The third goblin should be in the air right now. Spin to my left upon landing and smack it into the wall with the back of my fist, but before fist lands….

_Stop_ to check on the last two's position. Fourth goblin is in the air right behind third and the fifth is preparing to jump. Adjust plans accordingly before _go_.

Third goblin goes straight into the wall, follow through on the spin catches fourth goblin with the tip of my knife, and the fifth goes into the opposite wall with a back kick off another follow through. All of them turn into dust in that order. Heh, I bet I looked really cool there. Unfortunately, no time to savor the moment. My dumbass familia member is still down here somewhere being an idiot. To that end, I did my best to keep my momentum as I broke back into a run, but I ended up stumbling a bit. Great.

Keeping an eye on the ground to follow the trail of magic crystals that I had been following since I entered the dungeon. My assumption was that they were there because of Cranel, as no one would be dumb enough to come down here this late at night and just leave money lying on the floor. Running by it all pained me. I was gonna make that idiot pick each and every one of these pieces up when I dragged him back up to the surface.

Heh. I may not be a min-maxing, cold-hearted chess master, but with _Sokudoku_, I could at least pretend to be one.

* * *

**Interlude 2 Once Again, Bell Cranel Finds Himself Being Saved.**

…

I had run down into the dungeon wanting to prove something. Whether it was to myself or to someone in particular, or to the world, I didn't actually know. It had all happened so fast.

One moment, I was sitting in the _The Hostess of Fertility_ having dinner with Hikigaya-san and then, Ais Wallenstein and her familia walked into the tavern. Just like she had ever since she saved my life yesterday, she took up all of my attention. She was beautiful, graceful, powerful, and everyone knew her name and respected her. I could go on and on about how amazing she was, but then, her friend, I think his name was Bete, said all of those things about me and I was running out the door. Now, I was sitting on the ground with a swarm of killer ants coming towards me.

I had already tried to get up and fight back, but my legs wouldn't respond at all. I didn't know if I was tired or all the small little cuts that I had gotten to this point, but the most I could do was push myself up against a wall so that I was facing the monsters that were going to kill me. A smile slipped onto my face as all the grip I had on my knife faded away.

Despite what I knew was going to happen, I couldn't help but feel a little bit proud. All on my own, I had managed to get down to the seventh floor! The farthest Hikigaya-san and I had ever gotten together was the fifth. Eina-san would probably kill me if she ever learned I went down this far. Wait, now that I think about it, she and Hestia-sama would probably kill Hikigaya-san first for being a bad influence. Haha….

…

Suddenly, the grip on my knife tightened.

_Eina-san…._

Driving my knuckles into the ground under me, I pushed with every ounce of strength I had left.

_Hestia-sama…._

When I was able to get the bottoms of my feet under me, I pushed so that my back went up the wall behind me. It scratched and hurt a lot because it was made of rock, but that wouldn't matter at all if I didn't get back up, so I ignored the pain.

_Ais-san…._

I came running to the Dungeon because I was weak, because I knew that Bete was right. I didn't have the right to fantasize about being by her side with how weak I was. I needed to get stronger, braver, so what was I doing sitting there and accepting my death?!

_Hikigaya-san…._

Just as I got close to standing as my shaking legs could manage, they gave out under me and I was back to sitting on the floor.

Hachiman Hikigaya. Just a few weeks ago, I didn't know the name at all; but now, it was like it followed me everywhere I went, slipping into every one of my thoughts. Probably even more than Ais-san's did, albeit I only met her yesterday.

He was my friend, although he'd probably correct me and say otherwise if I were to ever tell him that. We went into the dungeon together, ate together, and even slept in the same room! That's what friends did, right? Spend time with one another? Admittedly, I didn't really know, but either way, we've done a lot of it over the past few weeks! Knowing him, he'd probably complain and say that was more of a bad thing than a good thing, but that didn't make it less true.

Still, and I hated myself for saying this, I couldn't help but feel a little stab in my heart as I thought about him. I may have been the Hestia familia's first member, but he was easily its best. First off, he was a lot smarter than I was, although that was pretty clear from the start. He used it in ways that I never expected, like when we were in the dungeon. All he needed was to fight a monster a few times and then it was almost as if he knew what it was going to do before it did it. And when I first went into the dungeon and spent most of my time running away from monsters and trying not to get hit, he somehow turned my cowardice into a strategy that actually worked!

When it came to fighting, he was better too. Even though he had the same amount of experience fighting as I did, it certainly didn't seem like it, or not to me at the very least. Whenever I would praise him for it, he'd always tell me that it was just because he had a really powerful skill, but wasn't one's skills still just a part of them? So, despite his best efforts, I couldn't really agree with him on that front!

Even when it came to our personalities, the one place where I knew most people would prefer me over him, I still found him to be admirable. A lot of people thought him to be rather rude and crude, which he was, but he could still talk to people better than I could. He was also really kind. Sure, he insulted and teased me a lot — probably more than he should now that I think about it — but he never did it like Bete. He never looked down on me or treated me like someone who needed protection. If I made a mistake, he'd explain to me what I did wrong and how I could fix it. Plus, he was really humble! And even though most people might say that this was a bad thing to be, he was really aloof. When people insulted or talked about him, he didn't care.

If Bete insulted him like he did me, he wouldn't have reacted like how I did. His first instinct wouldn't have been to run into the dungeon for the sake of pride. He wouldn't have gotten himself killed for something that stupid. At the very least, the Hestia-familia would be in more than capable hands now that I was going to—

An explosion rang through the air and shook the ground under me before I could finish thinking, causing me to wince as dust and debris flew into my face. I couldn't see at all, but I could barely hear movement going on in front of me. What in the—?

"Oi, you still alive, Cranel?" An all too familiar voice cut through the ringing in my ears and caused my entire body to lock up.

"H-Hikigaya-san?" As the dust cleared and I could see once again, the first thing I saw was my dark-haired familia standing over me, his back to me and knife in hand.

"So, you are alive? Good. Can you stand? I'm going to get you out of here, so it'd be good if you could."

I tried to respond, but nothing wanted to leave my mouth. For some reason— No, that was a lie. I knew exactly why I felt that way. As I looked up at him, my heart fell and my fists clenched, and then, I shut my eyes and hung my head in shame. It was happening again. I was being saved _again_. I needed to be saved **_again_**. I—

Something plunked off my head and stopped me from thinking. Opening my eyes, I found a thin glass vial with a red liquid inside sitting in my lap. It was a minor health potion. I recognized it because Eina-san had given me a few after me and Hikigaya-san became adventurers. My head shooting back up, I expected to see what I saw before, but instead, I found Hikigaya-san was now looking me straight in the eye. He had knelt down at some point.

"Hurry up and drink that, idiot," he said as he reached a hand out to me and— Ow! Did you just flick me in the head! "I'm not gonna be able to get out of here on my own, so the quicker you're ready to go the better." He stood back up and turned back towards the killer ants that weren't killed in the explosion. "For now, I'll buy you some time, got it?"

My eyes widened, but as quickly as I could, I popped the cap off the health potion and downed the entire thing with a single swig. Health potions usually tasted bitter to me, but this time, it tasted rather sweet for some—. No, I knew the reason.

Hachiman Hikigaya might've been better than me, but at the very least, he was still right in front of me.

* * *

Exhaustion could make someone do a lot of things they wouldn't want to do normally.

Back in my world, when I had tripped over trying to catch up with Hayama during that marathon, I scraped my knee up pretty bad. Despite that, I was still able to limp to the nurse's office without complaint. I did so not because I was physically tough or anything, that scraped knee hurt like hell at the time and crying was a thought I did have, but because I pushed my body so hard during the marathon that I couldn't feel my legs. The situation that I found myself in now was much more severe, but the principle still counted it.

On no accounts did I want to carry Cranel all the way to the surface from the seventh floor. Firstly, he didn't deserve to be carried anywhere after being stupid enough to cause all of this. He should count himself lucky that I didn't make him do what I threatened him with in my head earlier! Secondly, my entire body hurt because of all of the small injuries that I received during the rescue, and all my adrenaline wore off a long time ago. Having a falna afforded me a higher pain tolerance, but any moving I tried to do sucked, so the prospect of dragging someone roughly my size up seven floors of anything, much less the rock maze that was the dungeon, was not appealing.

Still, I needed to get him out of the dungeon and my body was begging me to go home so it could rest, so I didn't have much choice. Count yourself lucky that I'm so tired, Cranel! Otherwise you'd be crawling across the floor carrying _me_!

"Ah, H-Hikigaya-san…?" Eh, am I being spoken to? Who said that could you speak to me, Cranel? I don't speak to idiots who try and get themselves killed, so why are you talking to me? Will whatever you're about to say going to make up for the fact that I went down to save you at nighttime and now, the Sun is rising? "Hikigaya-san…? Hikigaya-san, did you not hear—?"

"—Just because I don't respond, doesn't mean that I didn't hear you the first time." _Fine_! If you're not going to stay quiet, I'll indulge you. "What do you want?"

"Oh, uh, thank you…. For saving me, I mean."

"Save your thanks for someone who cares." I didn't know if I was just exhausted or if the pain was finally starting to get to me, but the moment I started speaking, it occurred to me that I sounded far much more angrier than I intended. Hmph, whatever. In the end, I guess I was just proving myself right. "If you're really thankful, never do something that idiotic ever again."

Once again, Cranel and I found ourselves walking down the road back home in complete silence, but unlike last time, there was no noise around us to divert attention away from it. It was loud and distracting, and forced me to fill it.

"So, why'd you do it?"

"Huh?"

I glared at the boy leaning on my shoulder for a moment, before returning my attention to the road in front of me. Knowing what type of character he was supposed to be, I already had an idea as to why, but after what happened with Wallenstein, I was rather done with assuming things for today. "You heard me. Tell me why you thought trying to get yourself killed was a good idea."

My familia member was silent for a few seconds before letting out a chuckle. You better be laughing at yourself, Cranel. Nothing I said there could be construed as me trying to be funny. "I became an adventurer because I wanted to be a hero."

"Yeah, I figured." An all too familiar bitterness reared its ugly head as I said that, but I did my best to ignore it.

"Eh? You already knew?!" Oi, what's with that volume? It's way too early in the morning to be talking that loud! "How did you figure it out?"

"You aren't a hard person to figure out, Cranel." Considering the weird croaking noise he made, I could tell that if I looked over at him, I'd probably find the look on his face pretty funny. "But that goes for most people, so don't feel too bad about it. All you have to do is look at how a person acts, listen to how they talk, what they talk about — all that sort of stuff. Eventually, you'll get an idea as to what kind of person they are."

"Oh, then you're saying that I did something that made you think that…?"

"Basically, yeah." I turned to look at Cranel and found that he had turned his head to face away from me, immediately causing me to become suspicious. "What about it?"

"Do you mind telling me what made you think that then?"

Suddenly, I felt the urge to drop the dead weight leaning on me for support.

"Quit fishing for compliments. After what happened, you're lucky that I don't have you legally change your name to 'dumbass'." Once again, I found Cranel laughing in response to something I said in one-hundred percent seriousness. Oi, did you take any hard blows to the head while I was making my way down to you? "Just hurry up and answer the question."

I waited for Cranel to finally quit laughing, which took him more than a few more seconds that I would like, but when he did, he graciously granted me a few moments of silence as a reprieve before answering. "You know how I got saved by Wallenstein-san yesterday—I mean, technically, the day before that? And then how that werewolf from the tavern said all of those things about me in front of her?"

"Of course, I do. All of that is kind of hard to forget, considering the scene you made both times." Ah, is this where you're going to tell me that getting saved like how you did was deeply embarrassing to you? And how getting mocked for it while your savior was there hurt your pride even further? Look, getting embarrassed like that is bad and all, but on the scale of originality, it's pretty—

"Well, ever since Ais-san saved me, I haven't been able to get her out of my mind." —Eh? "And all that Bete-san said…" He lifted his free hand and clenched it a fist, before turning towards me and shooting me a smile. "It reminded me that I still have a long way to go before I can even think about being by her side."

….

"So…" I breathed in deeply from my nostrils as I reached up to pinch the bridge of it with my nose, "what you're telling me, is that you nearly got yourself killed because you don't think you're strong enough to be with a girl you like?"

Again, all I got back in response was laughter, though it was more sheepish this time. For good reason too!

Never in my life had I ever heard something so incredibly and utterly stupid, even for the motivation of a light novel protagonist. Out of all the main characters that I could've been stuck with, I got stuck with the one so hung up on a girl that he'd risk getting killed before they've even had a proper conversation.

"Hikigaya-san…?"

What made all of this worse was I thought my original assumption, which I thought to be rather stupid in the first place, was me somehow giving him far too much credit.

"Hikigaya-san? Is there something wrong?"

Who in the hell created this world? Not even Zaimokuza could come up with a character motivation this dumb and the original draft for his own light novel was so stupid that I'm genuinely sure it gave me brain damage! If I wasn't sure that I couldn't treat this world's people like they were your standard character archetypes, I was sure now. Not when Cranel could act this stupid—

"Hikigaya-san?" It was then that I realized that said idiot was talking to me. "Are you alright—?"

"Can you stop referring to me so properly? It makes me uncomfortable."

"Eh, you were listening the entire time?!"

"Didn't I just tell you that people not responding the first time doesn't mean they didn't hear you? And you thought that _I_ wasn't listening."

After that, our conversation soon spiraled into a mess of Cranel being loud and me making fun of him for being an idiot. Not typically the sort of conversation I enjoyed having, but I guess was just too tired to care.

…

**Chapter End.**

* * *

**A/N:** Hey. I did a thing. Look at the thing. I did it. Lmao. Only took me four months and some change. Have fun with it. I'm probably going to be covering the anime's events via arcs, by the way. So, the next chapter is gonna cover the part with the giant ape, but with less ape. Also, expect an Ais interlude coming up as I wanted to do it for this chapter, but then realized that it'd cut into the flow some. That's gonna be fun.

Also, am not doing the canon ending for OreGairu. If you've read the light novels or any summaries of the ending volume, you know what I'm talking about. Gonna be spoilers for that, by the by, but I'm sure by the time we address them, season 3 is going to be airing.

Also, also, just to note a few changes to canon, I've bumped Bell's age by two or so years. That's about it for right now, though.

Bye.

And this is a bit of a side note, tangent rant, but stop making Totsuka a girl just to add another character to 8-man's harem, you cowards. If you wanna love him, you love him with his dick and all, and I am kidding exactly zero percent. I know FanFiction is all about wish fulfillment, but if you're gonna do it, do it right and give him a proper character arc explaining that shit, because it goes against the entire appeal of the character.

Lesson one of all things: commit to the bit fully or don't do it at all! Don't half-assedly go, "Oh, he was hiding it the entire time and came out as a girl at some point" just because it'd be more convenient for you for him to be a girl. It's lazy and dumb. And if you wanna hand wave this and go, "Hey, don't take it so seriously." That's alright and a perfectly viable opinion as well, just know that I think it's lazy and dumb. We're all better than that, people. Come on.

Okay, now bye.


	3. Chapter 2: The Plot Continues On

Hey, so apparently, I fucked up while uploading this document file last time and deleted a bunch of the line breaks. That being said, here's a good key as to help distinguish what is what:

\- (actual line break) = POV shift (and if no character is specified, please assume we're going back to Hachiman).

... (centered ellipses) = scene change within perspective.

* * *

**Interlude 3 Once More, Ais Wallenstein is Eluded.**

…

"I'm not your messenger boy, Wallenstein." For some reason, the inside of my mouth tasted bitter as I watched the raven-haired boy turn and leave, slinking away into the shadows that surrounded _The Hostess of Fertility_ like a stray cat. "Orario isn't that big. I'm sure you'll run into each other again eventually."

I stood outside for several moments, contemplating the encounter I just had, before going back inside to rejoin my familia. Strangely enough, the tavern was quiet as I did so.

Partaking my previous seat, I picked up my fork and knife, and went about finishing the rest of my dinner. I got about three bites in before I felt the familiar prickling on my skin that told me that I was being watched.

Looking up, I found that the perpetrator was all of my familia. They seemed confused. I didn't know why, so I asked.

"Is something wrong?"

Suddenly, they all became more active.

"Ah, Ais…" As usual, Finn was the first to speak, but he sounded different. He sounded tentative, which was odd because he was never tentative. "Who was that boy that you were just talking to?"

Who? 'That boy'? Oh, right. The one I was just talking to, the one who reminded me of a cat.

I shrugged. "I don't know. He never told me his name."

That answer seemed unsatisfactory to my familia, because it caused them all to stagger forward. Did I accidentally say something upsetting?

"I believe that what Finn was trying to say," Riveria was now speaking to me, "is that the way you two spoke implied familiarity, might we know why that is?"

Oh. "We crossed each other's paths yesterday, as Loga and I were chasing the minotaur. I saved his familia from being killed."

"Wait, that fish-eyed bastard was with tomato kid?!" Loga, still strung up from the ceiling, began to thrash as he interjected. "Why'd you ever want to talk to a weakling like that?"

"Because there was a question I wanted to ask him."

"A question? What kind of question? What could've been so important that you needed to ask it outside so that no one could hear you?!" Loki-sama sounded panicked as she got up from her stool at the bar and rushed over to me, which confused me, even though my kami-sama was prone to overreaction. Did I say anything particularly distressing there? "What did that boy do to catch your eye? Is my Ais-chan trying to leave me?! No, you're growing up too fast! Please don't leave me, kami-sama!"

Already anticipating her to leap at me, I batted her down with little issue. She landed on the floor in front of me with a thud. "That wasn't my intention, no."

Riveria pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed at that.

"Ah, but Fish-kun must've done something to get your attention, right?" It seemed that it was now Tiona's turn to say something. Turning her way, I found that she was smiling at me as she typically did. 'Fish-kun'…? "I've never seen you go up and talk to someone like that."

"Little sis is right, y'know?" Before I could answer, Tione started speaking. She smiled at me as well, but she rested her chin resting on a platform she made with her fingers. "I've seen thousands of other adventurers come to you and compete for your attention, but all you ever do is turn them away. Something has to be special about the kid, right?"

Loki-sama groaned from her place on the ground. I glanced up at the ceiling and thought about the question.

'Special'? Was there anything special about him…? He reminded me of a stray cat I tried to feed once. He had lingered, growled at me as I offered him my hand, and then bolted away at the first opportunity. That was all that I could think of.

"Alright, alright, that's enough, everyone." Just as he always did, Gareth did his best to mediate. "If Ais doesn't want to discuss what happened, then it's her right not to. We shouldn't force her if she doesn't want to."

"Screw that!" Still bound to the ceiling, still thrashing, Loga argued from the ceiling. Ah, I forgot that he was drunk. That's why he's so riled up. "I want to know what she wanted with that nobody!"

"I second that!" Jumping back up from the ground, my hand still visible in red on her cheek, Loki-sama pointed at me in an aggressive way. "Ais-chan, as your kami, I demand to know what happened out there with that boy."

I blinked at the demand. I shrugged, not remembering when I had implied the opposite.

"I asked him a question and he answered it. After that, I asked him to fulfill a request."

"A r-r-request?" For the first time the entire conversation, Lefiya spoke up.

"Yes, a request, in which he declined." I felt myself frown when the bitter taste appeared in my mouth once more. "I was… dissatisfied by his answer."

My entire familia was left speechless for several moments. I shrugged and went back to my food. It didn't help the taste in my mouth.

* * *

**My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy than I Expected, Chapter 2 In the End, The Plot Continues to Move Forward.**

…

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and when one worked closely with others, they had to play to them if they wanted a successful operation.

For example, I wasn't a people person. If someone was running an event and I was a part of their team, they'd ruin it immediately by thinking that I'd do best in customer service. A certain ice woman I know might argue that uncomfortable positions fostered change in other people. That by confronting your weaknesses, you would eventually learn to grow pass them, but the problem with that sort of thinking is that she's a crazy person who often thought crazy. Granted, the idea didn't have zero merit, but in the end, a majority of people didn't like to be set up to fail — myself included.

That's why, when we into the dungeon, I made Cranel the bait.

"Hachiman, here I come!" A few months ago, a white-haired boy yelling that on the top of his lungs would've made my heart race. It still did now, but for different reasons. Either way, I had to breath in deeply and steel myself before I performed my next actions. "Four War Shadows!"

Raising my bow, I notched an arrow and pulled it back in anticipation. The moment white flashed across my vision, I spun around the corner and… _stop_.

Just like Cranel said, there were four War Shadows coming down the tunnel. They looked just like how they were named. Spike covered masses of pure shadow, all with a singular red eye in their heads. There was one in front, one in the middle, and the final two were trying to push past one another to kill us. Looks like the first two are mine, then.

Shoot arrow there to head shot the lead, immediately duck down, and unsheathe dagger to slash through the second as it gets close. Spin out of the way and let Cranel take out the last two. Perfect plan. _Go_.

…And my targets were dead.

Spinning around the corner and slipping my bow back onto my shoulder, I did so just in time to see Cranel come to a sliding stop, drag his hand across the dirt for what I assumed were style points, and loop around to where I started. With a single slashing leap with his knife, all of the War Shadows were dead.

Damn, if only I had pockets. I was already leaning against a wall, so being able to stuff my hands in them probably would've made me look super cool. Crossing my arms over my chest just had to do, I guess.

My lone party member didn't fair as well in the coolness department unfortunately. I'm sure that in the slowed down, panned out shot of the entire sequence he probably looked fine, but all I could see was him tripping over himself and sliding along the dirt shoulder first. Granted, we've been in the dungeon for a while now, so this was probably bound to happen eventually.

"You still good to continue, Cranel?" At the mention, the albino turned over onto his back, splaying all of his limbs out in the process. He was panting heavily and sweat seemed to cover more of his face than skin did, but he still raised a hand up into the air and gave me a thumbs up. I sighed at that and pushed myself off of the wall. "Come on, let's go grab those crystals and get out of here. It's about time we head back up to the surface."

"Aw, but we're so close to seventh floor! Just a little longer and I'm sure we can make it!"

"You should try sitting up if you want to try and convince me of that." A sheepish chuckle left Cranel in response to my call out, proving my point further when he continued to lie on the ground. Look, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you're clearly in no shape to keep going. Still, I can tell that you're determined to do so. Better pull out the big guns to make sure you comply. "Besides, Tulle still hasn't cleared us to head down that far yet, so ending things here for the day is probably for the best."

"But you've never listened to Eina-san before!" Ah, right, I did everything in my power to prove that half elf wrong. Wait, that's actually a good point! Have you been grinding up your arguing skills while I wasn't looking? Good start, but unfortunately, you're still not good enough to beat me.

"I do when it benefits me." Walking over to the grounded teen, I squatted down and offered him my hand. "Didn't you want to apologize to Flova for running out like you did? If we go down any further, we might not be able to get to _The Hostess_ before the dinner rush starts. You wouldn't want to bother her while she's busy working, would you?"

The grounded teen pouted before taking my hand. "…That's a dirty trick, Hachiman."

"That's what you get for thinking that I'd ever play fair." Smirking, I stood up and pulled Cranel up with me. Woo, another win for me. What does that make the score? Hachiman: infinite, Cranel: negative infinite? Heh, sounds about right. "Come on, I'll take the lead."

Just like always, I felt satisfaction at hearing my familia grumble back in response. It was nice to know that, even after almost dying, Bell Cranel remained the same.

…

World building for any fictional setting was incredibly important.

If the author wanted the audience to get invested in their story, there were many things that they needed to get right and how they ranked in terms of importance depended on the genre, but for fantasy, establishing a believable and interesting setting was probably second-most important behind coming up with compelling characters.

To properly build a world/setting, one needed to build from the ground up. Think about where the setting is located and how the geography and climate could affect the culture, and even the physiology, of whatever sort of inhabitants that were supposed to live there. Then, once that was down, use all of that newly created information and come up with a form of sensible government that aligned with the values just lined out. Now, once that was all written down, comes the actual difficult part: finding a way to implement all of this in a natural and sensible way.

Just like how an author shouldn't ever have a character describe their signature weapon in complete detail, as if it was their first time ever seeing it, a character who had grown up in a certain culture shouldn't ever exposit on its finer details, because they'd typically have no reason to. They should, and would, react to it as naturally as they did breathing. That's why 'fish out of water' stories, and in that vein isekai, were popular.

It gave authors the freedom to exposit all they want, because such information is still relatively new to the protagonist and, consequently, the audience. One could frame it as the character being new to these systems and needing to remind themselves of how they worked, or ask another character who is familiar and have them explain it. Either way, no logical gaps are created.

That's why, when faced with a caravan of adventurers rolling cages containing monsters of various shapes and sizes up towards the surface, I turned to Cranel, who was walking alongside me, and asked, "Oi, Cranel, you know what's that about?"

"Huh?" Blinking, my white-haired familia turned towards what I was asking about. "Oh, that? Those are members of the Ganesha Familia. They're probably bringing monsters up to the surface for Monster Feria."

"'Monster Feria'?"

"Oh, you've never heard of it? I know you said that you were new to Orario, but even I've heard stories about it once or twice."

Damn, I slipped up there. Well, I could try and cover it up, but that would just make me seem more suspicious. It was just best to roll with the punches. "Nope." I turned my head to face in front of me once again. Keeping a straight face while saying it was easy, since I was being vague enough that it was basically the truth. "Can't say that I have."

"Ah, well, um… It's basically this event that the Ganesha Familia holds, right? They get a bunch of really strong and rare monsters, and they fight them in the Colosseum while a ton of people watch." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cranel scratching at the back of his head as he let out a sheepish chuckle. What are you getting all embarrassed about all of a sudden? "At least that's what I've heard, I don't really know all too much either. Sorry about that."

I hummed to assure him that it was fine. Besides, it's not like I was in any position to talk, considering I didn't know anything either.

A God holding a giant festival just to show off how big and strong his familia is to the rest of Orario, whilst also suckering them into paying to see it? Yeah, that made sense. From what I've seen, public entertainment in the city was pretty lacking, so he probably made a killing off it too! Best not think about any of the moral implications of holding such an event, if this was how the people of Orario did things then that's how they did things, even if it feels stupidly dangerous.

Still, the idea that a Familia would willingly bring monsters up from the Dungeon brought a litany of questions to my mind, all about what would happen if they got loose somehow. Who would be responsible for wrangling them up and the damages they caused? I assumed Ganesha, but how did they even determine what costs what and how much money to put towards reparations? Did they just have enough money to risk it and how could I exploit that fact for my financial gain?

I was tempted to ask the albino next to me all of them as they popped into my head, but seeing as he just admitted that he probably didn't know the answer to any of them either, I swallowed them and continued on my way.

Hopefully, I wouldn't need them answered any time soon. Although, now that I say that, me even thinking that was probably jinxing it.

* * *

**Interlude 4 As Per Usual, Ryuu Lyon Goes About Her Day.**

…

In the morning, I ate breakfast with my coworkers. I listened to them banter with one another as they ate, chimed in whenever necessary, and then did all of my chores.

We had a simple system put in place. We'd rotate responsibilities every morning; some of us did the laundry, others helped Grande-sama in the kitchen, and the rest helped get the dining room ready for the night's business. Work would usually bleed into the afternoon, but once all tasks were completed, we were given a break before we opened our doors to the public at dusk.

How one spent that free time was up to the individual. Syr liked to read, Luinoire liked to laze around, and Anya and Chloe liked to make a mess of things. I didn't like to sit still, so I made myself useful in any shape I could.

Today, I had been sent out to buy a book by Syr. More specifically, "The Kind Adventurer and The Unwitting Barmaid, vol 3." Knowing her tastes, I knew better than to ask about its contents or when she had read the two prior installments, and just went to buy it for her.

Routine was a large facet of my life and, given my history, I took no shortage of pleasure in that fact.

"I'm sorry for running out like how I did! I never meant to run off without paying." However, every once in a while, something would come along and interrupt that routine. "I know that the bill's already been paid, but please take this! It's the portion I owed!"

Bell Cranel was that interruption.

The first thing I saw as I walked back through the door of _The Hostess of Fertility_ was that interruption. His head was bowed as he stood in front of an irritated Grande-sama and a worried Syr - the prior bent down a little to take the bag of valis that Cranel was offering her.

The novice adventurer came from out of nowhere and took up all of Syr's interest just as fast. I wasn't sure of the reason, but again, I chose not to question her. If she was fond of the boy, then she was fond of the boy and I would support her in any way I could.

"I do appreciate you going through all the trouble of doing this, but next time you try and run out without paying," Grande-sama placed the pouch down on the counter just a bit to her right, "you won't make it out of the door. Understood?"

Cranel, who had thought it a good idea to relax and straighten himself when the pouch was taken to him, let out a high-pitched squeak and returned back to a bowing position. "I really am sorry!"

"Ah, you can stop apologizing now, Bell-kun." I wasn't surprised to see Syr rush in to alleviate the boy's worries. Acts of kindness like that were in her nature. "I'm glad you stopped by. It was really nice to see you again!"

I smiled as the albino stood straight once more to gaze solely at my friend and coworker. Her hands were hidden behind her back and, having seen her dutifully make what it was earlier in the day, I had a decent idea as to what it was.

"I take it you went to the dungeon today? Take this!" With practiced ease, Syr revealed the hidden gift, a boxed lunch, to its recipient. "It's lunch! Well, it's technically more like dinner now, but I hope you enjoy it either way."

"O-Oh, really?" For a moment, Cranel's body stiffened in response to Syr's gift. The albino lifted his hands out in front of him, almost as if he was attempting to defend himself. "I can't accept something like that."

"You can't?" Syr countered by angling her head down ever so slightly and smiling at the novice adventurer with a healthy flush on her cheeks. It was the perfect response. When an opponent raised their guard, the best way to attack it was where they couldn't defend themselves. "But I want you to have it…."

The way that Cranel smiled at Syr signaled a total victory for my friend.

A snort coming from my left drew my attention from the battle going on in front of me. I turned towards it and found a raven-haired boy leaning on the wall next to the door, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. I had known he was there from the start, but that snort was the first noise he's made since I returned, so I paid him no attention until then.

The boy was Hachiman Hikigaya. From what Syr has told me of him, he and Cranel were of the same familia and the two rarely went anywhere without the other, meaning that he would be a valuable asset in my friend's current pursuit. It would be good to get him on our side.

"Excuse me, Hikigaya-san?" The boy's entire body stiffened in response to my attempt to get his attention. I was initially confused as to the reason, but when he snapped his head over to look at me and I saw the bewilderment on his face, I settled on him not having noticed me like I did him. It seems that I was a bit too forward. "May I have a moment of your time?"

Instead of answering, Hikigaya stared at me. I assumed that he was still recovering from being taken off guard, so I allowed him to do so. "Oh, um…." He turned his head away before clearing his throat into a fist. "Fine. What do you want?"

"It concerns Syr and Cranel-san." Wary of the latter hearing me, I made sure to lower my voice so that only Hikigaya could hear. The mention of his friend made the boy meet my gaze once more. "Syr fancies him."

"Really?" Hikigaya raised an eyebrow at that, before scoffing and refocusing on the two we were speaking of. "I couldn't tell. Thanks for spelling that out for me."

I could feel my eyebrows twitch at his sarcasm. "You're welcome, but that was not all that I wanted to discuss with you."

"Go ahead," Hikigaya smirked as he replied.

"She asks for your assistance in the matter."

"And what exactly would she have me do?"

"Syr asks that you have him come here every morning before you go to the Dungeon, so she can give him a boxed lunch."

"That all?" Hikigaya gave me an incredulous look, but once again paused after he turned to look at me, before turning away. Again, I was confused as to the reasoning, but again, I chose not to question it. "Isn't she overthinking this? Couldn't she just ask him to come by herself? I mean, it would just lead to the same result."

"She wishes to not make her feelings known at this point, as she would prefer to foster a natural relationship with him—."

"—That's good and all, but you're forgetting the fact that we don't have a reason to come here everyday. Cranel is an idiot, but he isn't blind. He'll figure out that there's something going on eventually." The grip I had on my apron tightened after I was interrupted. "Also, you seem to forget that I have no incentive to help you at all. I might be his familia, but I'm not that invested in his love life."

"…" I mulled over the last of his words for a moment. I had assumed that familial ties would be enough to sway Hikigaya into assisting us, but it seems that was a miscalculation on my part. His reaction was still understandable, however. While what Syr was asking did not seem like much of a commitment to her, that did not mean others would see it in the same way. Still, my friend had asked for my help and I would do my best to have her succeed. "What would you deem proper incentive, then? As long as it's within reason, I don't mind accommodating for her sake."

Hikigaya shook his head and let out a sigh. "You weren't supposed to take that last part seriously." Ah, another miscalculation. "Look, as far as I'm concerned, you're asking me to aid in a farce. She wants a 'natural relationship' with him? What's natural about going behind his back to rig things to her favor?"

I opened my mouth to retort, but was cut off when the boy pushed himself off the wall and moved to leave. I tried to intercept, but stopped when I remembered my need to stay unassuming. He came to a halt right next to me in the doorway, so it really didn't matter.

"If Flova is serious about liking Cranel, then I won't get in her way, but she should put in more effort on her end." Hikigaya wasn't looking at me as he said that, instead choosing to focus on the road outside _The Hostess_. "Boys aren't complicated. You'd be surprised how far one might go for a girl once they know they tried their best."

His final words made my eyes narrow. There was a hypocrisy to them that bothered me. He refused the request for aid harshly, almost as if it insulted him, but why then add that final part? I pondered pointing this out to him, but before I could decide, he called out to his familia, "You done, Cranel? We should see Hestia-sama off before she leaves tonight."

"A-Ah, right!" From behind me, the subject of our dispute called back to him. "Sorry Syr-chan, but I have to get going. My kami-sama is going to be gone for a few days, so I have to make sure and say goodbye before she leaves. I'll come by tomorrow and give this back to you."

Hearing that, Hikigaya made his way down the steps and turned left once he stepped onto the street. His albino familia chased him soon after, leaving a bit of a breeze behind him in his rush. I watched the two join the crowds of people and get further and further away, slowly becoming more and more integrated until I saw no trace of them.

Hearing footsteps coming from behind me, I turned to face them and found Syr, her face was marred with a downtrodden look. I could see my other coworkers peeking in from the kitchen behind her, sharing her expression. Grande simply smiled at me.

"I suppose that means he didn't want to help us, then?" I thought about nodding as Syr pointed out the obvious, but then Hikigaya's final words reappeared in my head. "Well, that's alright. Bell said he would come by tomorrow, so—"

"—Not entirely."

Syr blinked at me. "…Eh?"

* * *

I loved to sleep.

The world was a cold and painful place that sought to hurt you, and sleep was the body's natural defense to that. All that would normally hurt people, be it physical or emotional, couldn't do any harm while under the safety blanket of sleep. Being the intelligent person I am, I did my best to avoid all damage, which naturally lead me to believe that sleep should be the default state of the human body.

"H-Hachiman…?" Naturally, I disliked it when someone or something ripped that blanket away from me. Fortunately for Cranel, he wasn't what had done it in the first place. "Are you awake?"

With my arms tucked underneath my head and me currently staring at the ceiling, a part of me was tempted to hide my state of unwanted consciousness. While sleep had eluded me to this point, it was still possible that it'd come eventually and a conversation with Cranel would most definitely ruin those chances, but considering what was keeping me up, I realized that was hopeful thinking on my part.

"What do you want, Cranel?"

"Ah, so you are awake!" I let out a sigh when I heard rustling coming from my right. You do know that we're sitting in the dark, right? Sitting up is pointless.

I let out a sigh and turned my head in his direction. Unsurprisingly, the dark made it impossible to see anything other than the vague outlines of shapes. It really didn't matter since I already had a general idea where Cranel was, but it made the entire process of finding my familia's silhouette feel rather pointless. "I'm speaking, aren't I?"

"Hehe… yeah…." Oi, how come you're getting all sheepish on me now? If you're going to be annoying then just commit to it! There's nothing worse than someone who gets cold feet.

"So, you wanted to talk about something?"

"A-Ah, right!" I watched my familia's outline move. Given how his head moved and how his shoulders were raised, I assumed that he was doing that thing where he was pressing his index fingers together embarrassed. Really, you're far too predictable, Cranel. "Um… How do I ask this?" Hah, do you not remember how to ask a question? You just asked one, so this really shouldn't be that hard— "Have you ever liked a girl before?"

"I'm going back to sleep."

"Immediate rejection?!" The sudden rise in the albino's volume made me jump. Oi, watch it with how loudly you speak! You're loud enough already, but being underground makes your voice reverberate, which makes it even worse! "Are you really going back to sleep?"

"No, but even if I was, I doubt that I'd be able to now." Hearing Cranel chuckle made me grumble. "So, what's with that question all of a sudden? You falling for Wallenstein make you curious or something?"

"Something like that, yeah…" His head lowering told me all I needed to know about how he felt having to say that out loud. "I just figured that since you knew about me liking Ais-chan, you wouldn't mind, well… y'know?"

"'Ais-chan', huh?" Pointing that out made Cranel squeak, which made me snicker. Still, despite my amusement, the question still made me _stop_.

This entire situation was starting to remind me of a certain night, in which I was forced to spend a night with the riajuu king and his over-talkative lackey. Totsuka was there too, but I could never be forced to spend a night with him. He was probably the only aspect of that night that was even remotely bearable, but that was beyond the point.

Back then, I remember those two riajuu having a very similar conversation. Tobe being Tobe, he didn't blink an eye about revealing what poor girl held his interests. Hayama being Hayama, he gave the vaguest answer that Tobe would allow. Either way, the fact that there was any overlap between then and now made me wonder.

They called each other friends, so what did that make Cranel and I?

Letting out a sigh, I decided to let it _go_ and answer his question. At the very least, I didn't want to end up sounding like Hayama. "And to answer your question, yeah. A few times, actually."

"'A few times'?" For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that he could've said that much louder than he did. My ears were grateful for that.

"Yeah, why? Wallenstein your first or something?"

"P-Please don't say it like that!"

Cranel's panic made me smirk, but I left any mocking to that.

Teenage crushes were a strange thing, as their importance varied from person to person. Some viewed them as essential parts of youth, in which one had to experience, no matter the result; others may look back at them and see such connections as nothing more than inconsequential, hormone driven moments of a larger whole; and then, there were all of the middle variables in between.

Still being a teenager myself, I couldn't comment on how I felt about the subject yet, but I did know that my past crushes took up a lot of my head space. Not really with any regret, but they've all been an influence on my life in some way and that probably meant that they were important to me, right? The least I could do was treat Cranel with the same respect.

"W-What were they like?" It was a good thing that I was already finishing up that train of thought, because Cranel's question brought me back to reality. "If you don't mind telling me, that is! You don't have to if you don't want. I was just curious about what type of girl you were into."

Hm, what's with the sudden interest in my personal interests? I can understand the first question, but isn't this a bit of a tangent? I really hope that you're not just trying to make sure I'm not interested in Wallenstein, because if you thought that you were being subtle, then you're not.

"Well, if you just wanted to know that then, um…" That question made me stop and think deeply, as it did all growing boys. For sure, there were certain aspects a girl could have that I favored more than others - be it sugar, spice, or everything nice - but did it really matter? Did every girl that I gravitated towards romantically even fall along those lines? The answer was a resounding 'no', but that wasn't the question I was being asked. Wait, haven't I already answered this question before? "Motherly types, I guess? I don't know, I really don't have a type. It's not like I'm really not in a position to be picky anyways."

"'Not really in the position to'…" Cranel was silent for a bit, which again unnerved me. Silence often pointed to contemplation and my familia was the last person I'd expect— "Doesn't that just mean you've had zero experience with girls?"

Oi, oi, oi… What was _that_? Where did _that_ come from? That was incredibly harsh! Who are you and what you have done to my idiot familia?!

"Ah, did I just say something mean?!" Yes! Yes, you did! "M-My bad! I didn't mean to! That was just the first thing that came to mind, was all!"

Yeah, that's right! You better start backpedaling, Cranel. That was downright ableist given your status as a protagonist. I'm just a normal human being. There's no way that I could ever match you when it came to women! Next time you're so blatantly discriminatory towards the differently abled, I'll report you to Hestia-sama. I know the chances of her actually doing anything are minuscule, but I know it'd make you feel bad!

"Tch…" Oi, mouth, stop being lazy and say all that nonsense that our brain just thought! Don't just bow down to the protagonist. You're making us sound really pathetic! "Who ever said anything like that…?" Goddammit, that only makes me sound more— Wait, did Cranel just snicker? Since when were you ever able to laugh at someone else's expense? "Oi, for someone who supposedly feels bad, you seem to find something awfully funny."

"S-Sorry. It's just that I've never heard you sound like that before." …Is that supposed to make me feel better? What a bad protagonist! Isn't your ilk supposed to be kind to a fault or something? Then what's with this random act of cruelty? "Wait, does that mean you do have experience with girls then?"

…Damn, he didn't back down like I anticipated he would. "I-I mean, that would have to depend on how you define 'experience'? Do you mean romantically or do you just mean in general?"

"Romantically, of course." Instant answer?! "W-Well, if it was just in general, I'd already know the answer, so there really wouldn't be a point, right?"

Cranel's answer made me let out a sigh. Not only was he arguing back somehow, but he was making decent counter points too. Granted, the basis of my own were flimsy at best, but he was faring much better than he ever has. He's never really tried before, but that fact scared me even more! Has he always been able to pry this well? And if so, why did he even care so much in the first place? It's not like knowing about my non-existent love life would help him in any way!

Whatever his reasoning, it didn't matter in the long run. All that I needed to do was to get him to give it up. However, just like earlier, I knew better than to do so outright.

Cranel was asking me for personal information and I didn't want to divulge it to him, but to just outright dismiss the prior would make the latter seem like something I wanted to hide. It was, but I didn't want him to know that since it'd only make him more curious in the long run. If I wanted to put this to bed for good, my best bet would be to tell the truth, but only the one that I wanted to tell.

Sorry (but not sorry), Cranel. That was a pretty alright attempt, but you're going to need a lot more than that to get a max-level bullshitter like me to cave to you. "I went on a few practice dates with a girl from school, does that count?"

"'Practice… date…'?" Ah, right, Isshiki made that up. Sorry. It was presumptuous of me to assume that you'd understand that madness without help. "What's that?"

"…" Crap. Another good question. "It's like a normal date, but not real?"

"But how can a date not be real?" I could practically feel Cranel tilting his head to the side as he said that. "If the two of you were dating, then wouldn't all of the practice dates just be normal dates?"

"Well, actually, we weren't dating. The girl who forced me to go on them liked someone else and wanted a guinea pig to test her ideas on, so she just lumped the responsibility on me."

"Wait, 'forced'?!"

"Yeah, she didn't force me the first time though." Suddenly, a flaxen-haired fox appeared at the forefront of my mind. In her mouth was a stack of receipts and behind her was a black hole meant specifically for my free time. The mental image was like a cold breeze that tickled my left ear. Like a possum playing dead to escape getting eaten by a predator, the sensation made me tense up like a wood board. "The times after that, however…."

"Wow, that girl sounds really scary."

I snorted and glared over at my familia, or rather, his silhouette. "Please, you only get to say that after you've had to deal with her yourself."

In response to that, Cranel laughed and I smirked at my own joke. There was only silence after that. I expected some sort of follow up question, something along the lines of 'what was she like?' or something, but it seemed that whatever curiosity cloyed at my familia, it had been satisfied for now. Or, at least, that's what the steadying in his breathing told me. That was definitely a good thing, since I wasn't sure how many more of those questions I could've answered.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in and waited a few moments before letting it out, hoping to follow Cranel down the path to peaceful, satisfying slumber.

I didn't.

…

One might assume that every day of an adventurer's life would be action-packed and full of excitement. Our job was to go into a dungeon and kill monsters, so there's no way our days could ever become dull and uneventful enough to gloss over, right?

Wrong.

In the end, adventuring was just like any job. The first few days are the most noteworthy since you have no idea what you're doing and you're just trying not to die, but after a few weeks of doing the same thing over and over again, you start getting the hang of it. Then, when there's no challenge and there's nothing to improve on, your days working begin to melt into one another.

That's what the past two days have been like for me and Cranel. Both days we went into the dungeon with the goal of reaching the seventh floor and both days we failed. I could probably take solace in the fact that we were making a bit more progress each attempt, but that was more Cranel's style. We were stagnating, but at the very least, we had a good reason for it.

A few days ago, Hestia-sama had declared that she'd be going to a banquet meant for the Gods and would be gone for a couple days, and seeing as any stat increases could only be applied when she updated them, Cranel and I actually couldn't improve physically until she returned. Fortunately, as of this morning, she left three days ago, meaning that she'd probably be back soon.

That didn't stop me from disliking the stagnation, though.

Still, since nothing could be done until her return, all that Cranel and I could do was go about our usual routines and stockpile experience for our next update, hence the blurring of the past few days.

The only thing really worth noting that happened was a brief run in we had with Miach, one of Hestia-sama's god friends, outside Babel Tower, but all that came out of that was him giving us a few mind potions - something we couldn't even use yet since neither of us knew how to use magic.

Speaking of our usual routine, I leant back onto a nearby wall and crossed my arms over my chest, watching as Cranel entered _The Hostess of Fertility_ to go about its newest part. It seemed that Syr took my advice and outright asked the boy to come by every morning, or something along those lines. Not that it was any of my business.

Still, I couldn't help but feel a tad bit irritated by having to stand out here every morning, waiting for him to come back out with a bento given to him by a girl who's clearly into him. Lucky bastard.

That being said, if not having to deal with that subplot's inherent bullshit meant mild annoyance and losing five or ten minutes in the Dungeon, then I'd consider it a worthy sacrifice.

"Ah, Hachiman, I'm really sorry, but I'm not going to be able to go into the Dungeon with you today." Ah, it seems that I spoke too soon. Never mind, the sacrifice wasn't worth it at all! "Syr-chan took the day off to Monster Feria and forgot to bring her wallet, so some of the other waitresses asked me if I could go give it to her."

Hearing that made me pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Of course, I figured that something had gone wrong the moment Cranel emerged from the tavern without a bento. Maybe some sort of falling out between the two, considering that he was frowning and looking off towards Babel Tower, but in the end, this was all probably just a scheme to get the two to spend time alone. "Did you at least ask why none of them could go get it to her?"

"Well, no, but it seemed like they were all busy with work, so I thought that it'd be kinda rude." The lack of embarrassment or uncertainty in my familia's voice as he said that was far too noticeable for me to ignore. Instead, he spoke with… conviction? Excitement? Almost as if there wasn't anything in the world he'd rather do than get Syr her wallet. Oi, I know that you're supposed to be the kind of protagonist who's main flaw is his own selflessness, but why are you only this motivated when it benefits other people?

…Ugh, whatever. Cranel was his own person and he clearly already made his mind up on the matter, which in a sense, was something I should be happy to see. Might as well start off with something rather banal and innocuous like this. "Alright, alright, I'll see you later then. We probably weren't going to make much progress in the Dungeon anyways."

"Ah, thanks for understanding, Hachiman!" Oi, watch it with that expression. It's already bright and sunny out, you'll outshine the Sun if you're not careful. Fire with fire and all that jazz. "Oh, ah, if I find her fast, I'll be sure to head right to the Dungeon—"

"—Don't worry about it." Pushing off the wall I was leaning on, I started walking towards Babel Tower with no real destination in mind. I smirked to myself once I knew the albino couldn't see me do so. I appreciate you trying to be considerate, Cranel, but I'm not dumb enough to assume Syr was ever going to let that happen. "I'll go find something else to take up my time. You go enjoy Monster Feria, or whatever it's called."

"A-Alright, I'll see you at home!"

To that, I stopped, turned to face Cranel, and raised a hand back before getting back on my way. The least I could do was give a final parting message to a fallen comrade. There was nothing in the world scarier than a sly girl being interested in you. Then again, it's not like I knew anything about what that was like.

Either way, I needed to figure out a way to kill some time. I suppose that this was as good as time as any to start exploring my surroundings.

* * *

**Interlude 5 Unexpectedly, Lefiya Viridis Stumbles Upon Inspiration.**

…

I took to books quite quickly as a child. There was a magical quality to the written word that never failed to ensnare me and my imagination fully. Specifically, I loved epics.

Stories of brave heroes conquering challenges for just causes, descriptions of alien places that my mind could hardly fathom, and tales of connection borne through struggle and strife. My young mind, surrounded by none of those things, consumed such stories with greed and haste.

One might assume such a hunger would be quelled now that I lived in Orario, working as an adventurer for the famed Loki Familia, but alas, I was ashamed to admit that person would be wrong. Despite their relative frequency in my life, I'd be remiss in saying that I still didn't crave a good read every now and then.

Unfortunately, between my training and expeditions into the Dungeon with my familia, opportunities to indulge such luxuries were few and far between. An event like Monster Feria, however, provided just that.

Although, it's not that I wanted the opportunity in the first place….

Darn it, Lefiya! Now is not the time to think about what happened! Ais-sama would never want you to mope about just because you lost your opportunity to spend time with her— Ah, I'm thinking about it again! Books! Look at all the books around you! We came here to read and maybe buy some of them, didn't we?

Just as Rivera-sama once taught me, forcing my attention back onto my goal allowed me to regain my composure quickly. It simply wouldn't do if I, a level three adventurer, were to lose myself in a public setting!

It was to my fortune that I was currently surrounded by my goal then, as it made the act much easier.

_Copia Libri_ wasn't at all a large store. One would be hard pressed to find it, given how it was wedged in between the much larger clothing stores around it, but its simple wooden shelves stood way over my head and were filled with a wide variety of books. All of these aspects made the shop preferable to me, as even though I was without any of my familia, it ensured that I would not be bothered.

I currently stood in between two of its four rows of shelves, my eyes scanning the titles of the many books that lined them, searching for anything of interest.

So far, I found myself disappointed.

Due to the books being organized in alphabetical order, finding any specific kind of book was difficult, but even after combing the first two rows in their entirety, I had yet to find anything that caught my eye.

I sighed at that. Maybe I should've accepted Tiona-chan and Tione-chan's invitation, after all. It's not that I found the idea of attending Monster Feria with two of my own familia unappealing, but after having my opportunity to attend with Ais-sama taken from me by Loki-sama, the thought became unbearable.

Fortunately, before I could delve any further into my sulking, the sound of a bell ringing caught my attention and made ears perk up. I recognized it as the same one that sounded when I first entered the store. That was the first I've heard it sound since then and I looked to be the only customer in the store at the time as well, which meant that someone new had entered the store!

Ah, I must get a hold of myself fully! I cannot allow anyone to see me acting so uncouth, for the sake of my familia and my people! It's a good thing that I wasn't anywhere near the entrance.

Depressive thoughts cast to the side once again, I returned my focus to the books in front of me. Several moments were spent scanning its contents before my eyes were stopped by a book on the topmost possible shelf. Its spine read, "The Roguish Rogue and the Prim Princess, vol. 1."

The title had an air of familiarity to it, but for some reason, the context alluded me. Yes, but I've certainly seen it before, but where? Frowning, I scoured the depths of my memories for occasions in which I could've crossed paths contact with such a book and then, I remembered suddenly. Riveria-sama! I had once seen the tome in my queen's chambers!

The revelation immediately piqued my interest in its contents. Surely, if it could hold a ruler's attention it must've been a grand and worthwhile story!

With curiosity driving me, I took a step forward and reached up to pull it from the shelf, but immediately found my reach lacking. To the point where my fingers could not even graze the shelf it was on. My first thought was to stand the tips of my feet to increase my height, but then, I remembered that my footwear was already forcing me to do so.

I tried and tried, and after managing only to graze the bottom of the book's spine with the tip of my finger once, I ceased reaching to huff and frown. My mind raced with possible solutions to my current problem. My first instinct was to go to the shopkeeper and ask them to procure the book for me, as it was the practical and sensible thing to do, but then I remembered my failings during my familia's last expedition into the Dungeon and cast the thought from my mind.

If I could not even manage my way through this simple of an issue on my own, then how could I ever expect to get better? I needed to solve this on my own!

Now determined to solve this problem on my own, I nodded to myself and immediately put my next solution into action, no matter how unbecoming of me it may be!

Taking a moment to make sure that no one was present, I placed my foot onto the bottom shelf and gripped the middle-most one, which sat at an even level to my neck. I gave it a cautionary pull to assure that it could hold my weight and then used it like a ladder to get me closer to my goal.

Once again, I was only able to get a finger tip on the book, but doing so was much easier than it had before. I was now confident that the book would be in my possession, I just needed to push myself a little—

"Oi, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that." Immediately, my body froze as a quiet, masculine voice came from my left. I tried in vain to move my head towards it to affirm my worries, but I remained stiff as a board. Unfortunately, I already knew what had happened.

It seemed that, in my focus to obtain the book, I had missed someone entering the aisle I was in and allowed them to witness me climbing up on another's property like an unruly child.

….

Well, if I were to procure the book quickly, I may be able to explain my predicament and save some face—

My finger was only able to graze the spine again.

Maybe if I were to try and get myself higher—

My greater efforts lead to only failure.

Calm down, Lefiya. Maybe it was because of your panic that you were unable to get the book. Try one more time with a cool head and surely you'll be able to—

Oh, it seems that I failed once again….

Why can't I reach this damned book?! Come on, please just give yourself to me already! I beg of you! I don't want to embarrass myself any further! I'll do anything! Just keep from tarnishing my good name any—

Suddenly, the lone foot that I had been supporting myself on disappeared from under me and I found myself falling backwards. One might assume that, since I had already taken three steps towards divinity, I would be able to save myself from falling quite easily, but unfortunately, my body stiffened up. All I could do was react fast enough to know that I was falling and do nothing about it.

It made landing hurt even more, even though it didn't hurt at all.

_Sniff_….

I couldn't help but hang my head as I sat on the ground. All that I desired to do was get a book and I couldn't even manage that without embarrassing myself. If death could come at a whim, then I would be calling it right now. Surely, its cold embrace would be a much alternative to these dreadful flames incinerating me.

"Oi, uh… You alright?" The sound of these flames' catalyst made me flinch back, despite there being no aggression in his voice. Such a pitiful reaction only fanned the fire. "Look, I'm sorry if I was the reason you fell, alright? Please just don't cry."

"I am not—!" No longer being able to help it, I attempted to shout my frustrations at the voice. If my words were like dragon's breath, I wanted the voice's owner turnt to ash, but I smothered that desire as quickly as I could. My familia and people have already been disgraced enough for one day. "Please, I just want to be left alone."

There was silence for a few moments and then I heard a sigh. Since my eyes were closed, I couldn't be sure of the man's departure, but I assumed as much when I heard a series of footsteps travel away from me. At that, I drew my legs close to my body and breathed in as deep as I could manage.

I held that breath inside of me until my body stopped trembling and my eyes no longer threatened to spill. As pitiful an adventurer as I was, I refused to allow myself to become even more so out in the public eye. Even _I_ had more pride than that.

The moment my body calmed itself, I got up off the ground and released the breath that strengthened me. My shoulders slumped the moment I did so, but at the very least, I was no longer sitting in such a pathetic position. I moved to dust off the portion of my clothes that I had fallen on, but before I could do so, the sound of footsteps caught my attention.

Turning towards them, I saw a sight that made me freeze.

There was a boy walking towards me, but not just any boy, it was the same one that had spoken so brazenly to Ais-sama at _The Hostess of Fertility_ a few nights ago. It had to be! A visage as unremarkable as his was unmistakable! Unkempt black hair; ill-fitting, ragged grey long-sleeve; worn, faded black pants; and eyes that reminded me of a dead fish. No doubt, this was the same boy from that night!

"You're…"

"Hm?" The raven-haired boy stopped in his tracks and raised one of his brows when he heard me speak. It was then that I noticed that he had a small wooden crate in his hands. "Something wrong?"

"You…." Against my better judgement, my mouth spoke the words that raged deep within my chest ever since that night. "What are you to, Ais-sama?"

"Eh?" Visible confusion flickered on the stranger's features for a moment, but that just as quickly vanished. "Oh, right, you're a member of Loki's familia, aren't you? I figured that would come bite me in the ass sooner or later." He took a deep breath in and out, making it clear that he saw me as a bother. Well, if that's the case, then I don't particularly like talking to you either then! "If you're talking about what happened a few nights ago, then don't look too much into it, alright? She just wanted me to answer a question. There isn't anything going on between us or anything."

…Did this fool really believe me to be of his ilk? "Ais-sama would never go out of her way to speak to someone without a reason. She had to have a reason to speak with you."

"She did. It was to ask me a question." At that moment, I sincerely regretted my decision not to burn this person alive earlier. "If you're so curious, you should've just asked her yourself."

"I did." Well, it certainly wasn't I who had asked, but the question had been brought up by our familia! "But she would not disclose the nature of the issue for whatever reason."

"Well, she shouldn't have." The boy answered in a deadpan, which somehow managed to infuriate me further. "Look, no matter what it looked like, all that happened was that she saved me and my familia from getting killed by a minotaur, and she had a question about what happened. Does that solve your problem?"

I opened my mouth to deny the notion, but no words escaped my mouth. I couldn't argue his logic, or at least, my mind failed in finding a way of doing so. In a way, he did answer my question, but something still clawed at me. He wasn't sharing all that he knew, but how—

"Anyways, here." Before I could finish piecing together a rebuttal, the boy seemed to take my silence as me admitting defeat and began moving towards me. His discourteous-ness irritated me, but any frustration I felt was quickly replaced with confusion, as he stopped in front of me and placed the crate in his hands down at my feet.

"Huh?" I stared at the crate for a moment and then turned back to the boy, just to find him looking up and away from me.

"You were trying to get a book on one of the higher shelves, right?"

"Oh, ah, yes, but—"

"—I'll just, uh, leave you to it then." He turned his head to face me once more and gave a quick nod. "Sorry about earlier, by the way."

After that, the boy turned and trudged away, leaving me completely dumbfounded as he walked out of the aisle and out of sight.

I stood there for many moments, struggling to comprehend the conversation I just had. If I had to put words to my emotions, the best would be 'conflicted'. My heart still burned with questions I wanted to ask him, mainly the nature of his relationship with Ais-sama. Such behavior from the Sword Princess was rare, even with those in our familia, and he spoke of the event so lightly! Any other adventurer would count themselves lucky to be sought out by someone of her status in any capacity, but at best, he seemed disinterested. At worst, he seemed to loathe the fact the entire interaction happened to begin with. Any sense eluded the thought!

But, even now, I was forced into hesitation.

Would it not have been unbecoming of me to press the matter any further? It was clear that he was adamant on not discussing the matter and, while my earlier fall was clearly my own folly, he still took responsibility and apologized. Even going out of his way to try and make amends when he didn't have to. He did good by me, a stranger, and I chose to treat him poorly, all because of my feelings for Ais-sama. I hadn't even been able to thank him for—

—Ah! I never thanked him for trying to help! I would not let such a sleight fester! Despite my own feelings, I should be able to show him that common courtesy!

The sound of a bell ringing made my ears perk up! Knowing what that meant, I raced to follow it to its source and make up for my err.

I reached the front of the store just in time to see the boy leaving the store. I bid the store attendant a wordless thanks as I followed him out, but as I rushed to exit _Copia Libri_, I heard coming from my left. Screams and a low rumbling.

Knowing that the Coliseum was off in that direction, my first thought was that it was just noise coming from those participating in Monster Feria, but then I realized they sounded far too close for that to be the case. Turning in that direction, I saw that my worries were well founded, because all I was met with was a gust of strong wind and a black blur.

Following it in the direction it went, my eyes widened in shock as I saw it ground against the dirt to a stop. Its momentum taking it out the other end of the alley.

A Charging Wall, one of the rarest, most destructive monsters to appear on the Dungeon's middle floors. It was the size of a small shack and akin to a boulder on four, short legs - its entire body being made of jagged, uneven rock - but its most prominent feature was its tall, shield-like face. Despite having taken part in many expedition parties, I had only ever encountered it in the stories of my comrades and each time, they shared the same sentiment: only the mightiest of parties could survive an encounter with it in a narrow passage.

That meant that the alleyway where _Copia Libri_ was located, which was sandwiched in between two larger roads, played to that strength very well. Fortunately, due to Monster Feria, the streets were relatively empty of people. Save for the few—

My mind immediately jumped to the boy who had been standing in front of me, who had disappeared from sight the moment the Charging Wall flew by. Given his gear, he seemed to be a novice adventurer, so there was a very good chance that he had been run over by it—

"Oi…" I startled when I heard his voice come from in front of me. As he wasn't anywhere in my immediate line of sight, I cast my gaze downwards and found him lying prone on the ground, a broken dagger in his right hand. His small, beady grey eyes were focused squarely in the direction of the Charging Wall. I followed them and a small trickle of crimson, and found it getting back onto its short legs. "You're an adventurer, right?"

Seeing the rock monster begin turn back towards us, I took an instinctive step backwards and swallowed hard, before answering, "Y-Yes."

"Level?" It was now facing us.

"T-Three." The living boulder scraped at the ground with one of its front legs and roared. It was going to charge! We needed to—

Before I could finish that thought, I felt my feet disappear out from under me and let out a yelp. At some point, the boy had gotten off of the ground and swept me up off my feet. The impropriety of the action made me tense up instinctively, but any protests I had were cast away the moment he began to flee in the opposite direction of the monster.

"You're a mage, right?!" Even though the boy was yelling, I could hardly hear him over the stomping that had begun behind us. Still, I found myself being shocked as to how he so easily surmised my class. I didn't even have my staff with me!

"Y-Yes, but how did you—?"

"—Do you know any magic that can kill that thing?!"

My mind raced at the question. Did I know magic that could kill a Charging Wall? Having taken three steps towards divinity, I felt it was remiss of me to imply otherwise, but just the same, I opened my mouth and words struggled to escape. "I-I do, but—"

Once again, I found myself being interrupted. This time by the alleyway around us giving way to open sky and the boy carrying suddenly throwing himself, and me with him, off to the left. Another gust of wind burst by us as he did so.

Naturally, I braced myself for a tumble, but was surprised to feel that I landed softly. The reason why became apparent the moment I glanced down and found the boy underneath me. I felt the urge to thank him, but remembering the graveness of our situation, I set that aside for later and got up and off of him as fast I could manage.

As soon as I was up and able, I made fast note of our surroundings. We were back on the main road. Being in the shopping district, it was wide to accommodate large crowds of people and were lined with stores and stands of various types as far as the eye could see. Much of the latter, however, were crushed to splinters. Surprisingly, even with Monster Feria going on, there were few bodies strewn about.

"You said that you could kill that thing, right?" In my peripheral vision, the boy got back up and slipped the bow on his shoulder off of it, focus still fixed on the Charging Wall, which was already beginning to turn to look our way.

Worry coursed through me when I noticed the materials his weapon was composed of, it was naught but a long branch and a piece of twine. Worry morphed into regret when I realized the boy's intention. He would attempt to fight a Charging Wall with such sub-par equipment? All because he believed that I could help him? I couldn't allow him to do so. I couldn't help my own familia when they counted on me, how could I possibly help him?

"I did, but—!"

"—It's alright if you can't." Once again, I found myself being interrupted. This time by the boy suddenly saying something that I never heard before. "None of this situation makes sense, so I don't think this thing isn't going to leave us alone any time soon." The boy reached behind him and pulled an arrow from his quiver. It was just a wooden stick with an end sharpened. "Stay and fight, or start running and find help; either way, I should be able to buy time."

I had been given a choice, one that could very likely lead to someone's death, yet I found myself frozen. I didn't know what to do. Would I be able to help if I were to stay? Could I run fast enough to find someone to help? Who would I even run to? My familia? _Twilight Manor_ was closer than the Colosseum, but would I be able to make it—?

"Hurry up and make a decision." I was jostled from my indecision by a voice, calm and even. A pair of grey eyes were now looking at me and in them, I saw something in them that made me decide. "I don't plan on dying here today."

With that, the boy dashed off to his left.

"I wish upon the name of Wishe." Gathering and focusing my will, I began my chant. "Ancestors of the forest, proud brethren."

I was rife with indecision but I was going to stay.

"Answer my call and call to the plains." To put it plainly, I was afraid. "Connecting bonds, the pledge of paradise."

However, the boy in front of me was too and he chose to run into battle with nothing but a stick and thread.

"Turn the circle and dance around." If I couldn't do the same with all the magic I had in my possession… "Come, ring of faeries."

…then I would sooner cast myself off Babel Tower, than consider myself deserving of it.

"Please - give me strength! Elf ring!"

* * *

Current objective: buy enough time for the elf to use her magic.

Admittedly, the thought was pretty ironic considering the nature of _Sokudoku_, but despite its pseudo time stopping/slowing nature, it wasn't going to help me in the slightest here. My skill's main advantage was that it gave me time to compose myself and think while in the heat of battle, and while it did technically boost my reaction time, it didn't actually make me move faster in any way.

If a monster flat out outclassed me in terms of physical speed, then despite me seeing it as having slowed down, I would still be slower than it. That's what made the walking boulder in front of me so dangerous.

_Stop._ It's stomping and grinding its front foot again. That's definitely a tell - getting ready to charge. Start running left to get it at an angle, so it doesn't go right into the elf behind me when it does. Can't get to top speed instantly and, from this distance, I should be able to dodge out of the way without _Sokudoku_ active. _Go_.

I broke left and just like I expected, it tracked me as I ran and then charged. Diving out of the way, I felt a gust of wind graze my leg as I notched the arrow in my hand. I could hear the walking boulder grind itself to a stop behind me as I rolled across my back and into a crouching position, my head snapped towards the noise and I found the monster several meters away.

It was lying in the middle of the road. Probably needed to drag itself across the ground to make sudden stops.

_Stop_.

It only took me a single glance to realize what it was, or rather, what it would try to do to kill me. Thank you, video game developers all over the world! Once again, your lack of creativity has proved useful to me! Just for that, when I get back home, I'll be sure to hop straight on Twitter and get everyone to think that anyone saying that your game lacks creative boss design is the asshole. That should make up the difference!

Faux gratitude aside, despite the clear similarities between those copy-and-paste bosses and the monster in front of me, there was no way I was going to be able to kill this thing by playing a matador.

Given its size and deceptive top speed, even if I were able to get it to run into one of the buildings around me, it'd probably go right through it. Even if it didn't, I doubted that it'd just randomly decide to flop onto its side so I could attack its underbelly, the only obvious chink in its rocky armor. And even if it did, I snapped my iron dagger in two trying to do so earlier, so I was pretty sure my arrows weren't going to do any damage to it.

Right now, all I could do was annoy the thing and get it in prime killing position when the elf was finished her chanting.

_Go_. "I wish upon the name of Wishe."

Watching the monster get back on its feet and start turning to face me, I breathed in deep and pulled my arrow back in preparation. The thing was built like a tank and moved like one too, meaning that it took a few seconds to fully turn and face me, but when it did, I let loose my arrow right at its stone face.

The monster didn't even flinch as it plunked right off the center of its head, which left me disappointed but not surprised.

"Ancestors of the forest, proud brethren."

_Stop_. Dammit. Expecting it to stomp like it did earlier, I moved to pull out another arrow, but it charged without warning. So, you're not _that_ predictable, huh? Got it. It's running at me right now. Gotta dive out of the way. _Go_.

Being in a crouching position, I tucked my shoulder and rolled to my right, just to barely avoid getting trampled as it rushed by again. I heard it grind to a stop behind me again, but this time closer.

"Answer my call and come to the plains."

I rushed to check and I found that it did, in fact, stop closer to me than it did before. _Stop_. I didn't know if it meant to do that, but seeing that I wouldn't be able to get distance on it and repeat my earlier actions, I came up with another plan to attack it. _Go_.

Exploding back up to my feet, I circled behind the monster and notched another arrow as it got back up. The moment I reached its head, I dropped down into a baseball slide and turned to aim my bow at its face.

"Connecting the bonds, the pledge of paradise."

_Stop_. Use out most foot to stop slide. Pull back on drawstring and shoot it right in the eye. Not unrealistically big and glowing bright orange, but it'll have to do. _Go_.

Direct hit, dead center. The stone monster roared and flailed as its eyes snapped shut. I took that time to hop back up to my feet, pull out another arrow, and jump back to make distance.

"Turn the circle around and dance around."

Notching said arrow in mid-air, I drew it back the moment I touched ground and waited for the thing to open its other eye.

"Come, ring of faeries."

As soon as it did, I let loose the shot to close it permanently, which forced it to let out another anguished roar.

"Please - give me strength! Elf ring!"

Assuming that was the end of her chant, I smirked as I watched the rock monster thrash around. Haha! Get rekt, you living plot contrivance! Also, to whatever force caused you to come all the way from the Colosseum, I hope that you're watching, because you should know that I'm nowhere near dumb enough to miss the connection! I'll track you down and make you pay for my broken dagger! Wait, screw that. For nearly killing me, I'll charge you ten, no, hundred times that amount—

"Harbinger of the end, the white snow." Eh?

A sudden and intense burning spread through the front of my body as I suddenly felt my feet leave the ground. That feeling spread out into the rest of my body as I hit something hard and the world began to spin, eventually coming to a _stop_.

A year or two ago, before the start of my high school career, I had thrown myself in front of a moving car, got run over, and fractured a bone in my leg. Back then, the pain was so bad that I almost immediately blacked out from it. Now, I wasn't even close to reaching that point, thanks to my falna and improved pain tolerance.

That didn't stop the pain, though. At the very least, now I know what'd happen if I were to activate it after getting— _Go_.

My hand clutched at my chest as my burning lungs tried to claw air back inside of them. I squirmed on the ground as I gulped in the air like a thirsty man did water. Doing my best to ignore the pain going on in the rest of my body, I propped myself up on a forearm and my knees.

The flat dirt under me was spinning. There was an awful ringing in my ears that made it impossible to hear anything and despite having only had my skill activated for a moment or two in actual time, it felt like I had been drowning.

It took a few seconds, but eventually, I was confident enough in my oxygen levels to stop breathing exclusively through my mouth and when I did, I shut my eyes hard and grit my teeth together.

_Stop_. Dammit. Made a mistake. Paid. On ground now. Shit. Monster still alive. Still need to buy time. Need to focus. _Go_.

"A-Are you okay?!"

Forcing my eyes open, blurry vision and all, I looked for the monster that had most likely run me over. Conveniently, it was just then that my hearing and touch started to return to me, although all it did was tell me that the thing was slowly lumbering over in my direction.

Eyes eventually landing on the monster, I found that it was to my left, standing directly over me like some sort of spinning mountain range.

_Stop_. Its eyes are still closed and its nostrils are flaring. It must not know where I am. Probably only managed to hit me because I hadn't moved after I shot it. I have to take advantage of that somehow. Bow isn't in my hand anymore. My arrows won't do any damage. Dagger is broken. Attacking with my bare hands isn't an option. All visible weak points have already been attacked. Should I just get out of the way and— There!

Following a small drop of blood coming from underneath the monster, I found that the other half of my dagger's blade, still sunken into the thing's underbelly like an iron thorn. How it managed to stay lodged in there, despite all of its sliding around, plot only knows, but I decided not to count my blessings. I could only take advantage of it. _Go_.

Forcing my aching body into action, I rolled myself under the monster, located my target, and slammed the broken blade with my palm. It didn't go any deeper into the thing, but the act did make it tremble and let out another, pain-filled roar.

I rolled out from underneath the thing, just barely avoiding getting squished as it flopped down onto its belly. My head immediately snapped over towards where I heard the elf's voice coming from and yelled, "I'm fine! Finish the chant!"

A part of me wanted to be more succinct, as to try and sound cooler, but considering that my body felt like it was dying, I could hardly bring myself to care. Still, the look of worry on the pink-clad mage's face faded as she nodded at me. She put her hands out in front of her.

"Closing light, the freezing land." A bright, white light began to emanate around her and her palms. "Blizzard, the three severe winters — my name is Alf."

That white light trailed her hand as she pulled it back. Seeing that, I found it in my best interest to get out of the way. "_Wynn Fimbulvter_!"

With that final exclamation, a torrent of pure, white energy poured out of her hand like a frozen tidal wave. The air around me was so cold that I could feel it nip on my skin and I counted myself lucky that I managed to dive out of the way in time.

It didn't take long to completely engulf the now struggling creature and an instant later, the light was gone and there was nothing left but a trail of ice lining the ground and an ice statue that took its rough shape. It stood as a monument to our victory for a moment and I stared at it, filled with a combination of awe and terror, before eventually a crack split it and it collapsed into dust like all monsters did.

So, that's magic, huh? Talk about scary.

…

People often say not to judge a book by its cover and that it's not wise to make any final judgements on a person's character just from your initial perceptions of them. Of course, while I found the idea of tempering one's own expectations to be rather good in general, I couldn't bring myself to agree with the sentiment.

The notion that you'd be able to understand someone better, just because you've spent more time in close proximity with them was irresponsible and asinine. For example, I've spent almost seventeen years living with my parents and there wasn't a single thing about them that I understood. All I really knew was their general tendencies and all the 'why' of the matter was beyond me. Hell, the same thing could be said for Komachi, although I hated to admit it.

The point was that first impressions are important, because more often than not, that's the only side of the person you, or sometimes even the world, will ever get to see. They may do it consciously or unconsciously, but at the end of the day, the parts of themselves that they're comfortable with showing you are only ever shown because they don't mind doing so.

For example, my first impression of Isshiki Iroha was different from others, because she didn't care if I thought highly of her or not. I was a nobody that she wanted to use for her own gain and so, she didn't see a problem with me knowing that.

Now, what was my first impression of the golden-haired elf kneeling over me?

Well, she reminded me of Cranel. Not entirely, but the similarities were certainly there. A strange fixation on Wallenstein, crippling insecurity that leads them do dumb things, and being more powerful than the previous similarity would let on.

In terms of differences, uh….

"A-Are you gravely injured at all?" She certainly seemed more well-spoken? "You only sustained such damage because of my lack of foresight, so please don't hesitate to request my aid."

In response to such levels of concern, my first instinct as a proud, full-blooded Japanese man was to assure her that I was alright, but unfortunately, my body wouldn't cooperate. To put it bluntly, I was exhausted.

My body ached all over and taking full breaths burned like hell. I was pretty sure that if I were to try and get up right now, I'd just double over and collapse from the pain. So, on a physical level, I was far from being okay.

Mentally speaking? Not so much either. I felt like I had just spent an entire day inside the Dungeon, but worse somehow. Like, there was this weight on my shoulders that told me that I'd be best served staying on the ground, sitting against this wall and nothing else. Granted, if I hadn't been an adventurer, that hit I took probably would've killed me and I knew it, so maybe my body was just reacting to that.

That being said, if she was willing to help me, I'd be remiss to deny her offer. Also, money for health potions and healthcare didn't grow on trees, so if a rich girl from a rich familia was going to offer me assistance, who was I to pass up the opportunity? That'd be pretty disrespectful and ungrateful of me!

I opened my mouth to answer, but the moment I did so, a stabbing pain shot through my chest and forced me into silence. How much it hurt must've been visible because panic spread across the elf's face soon after.

"Ah, please don't attempt to speak if you cannot! I don't want you to injure yourself any further for my sake." Wait, was that genuine concern towards my well-being? Great, now I feel kinda bad for wanting to take advantage of your kindness. "Please try and keep still for now. With all of the commotion the Charging Wall caused, I'm sure the Guild has sent medics out to treat the injured."

Wait, the Guild does that? I knew that they had medics available for adventurers willing to pay, but I didn't know that extended out to civilians at all. Huh, the more you know. Of course, I doubted they did it out of the kindness of their heart, but that was nice to know. Oh and 'Charging Wall'? Is that what the thing we killed was called? Cool.

Also, can you please stop staring at me? I know that you're worried about me, but I'm not injured enough to outright die in front of your eyes. At least, I hoped that was the case. If I was, I'm sure I would've blacked out dramatically by now.

Being unable to tell her that without feeling like someone was stabbing me in the lung, I decided to just mitigate the issue by turning my head away from her. However, for some reason, she believed that to be the best moment to start speaking, which forced me to pay attention to her again. Oi, if you have something to say, don't hesitate until you lose their attention! Only children do that sorta thing!

"Oh, ah…. please forgive me for how I treated you earlier!" Eh? Not really knowing what she was apologizing for, I blinked at her once and raised a brow. Surprisingly, although I didn't really know how much so considering she was in the same familia as Wallenstein, she understood what I was getting at immediately. "Earlier, back in _Copia Libri_, I allowed myself to be caught up in my emotions and I treated you unfairly because of it." The pink and white-clad elf lowered her head as she spoke. "I can tell that you don't think much of it, but still, please accept my sincerest apologies regardless."

…

I wanted to let out a sigh in response, but considering the current state of my respiratory system, I decided against being a dumbass just to get my feelings across. You literally just admitted to knowing that I didn't really care about any of that, so why are you even bothering to apologize? Are you really observant enough to glean that much, but not how self-serving that is? Also, please stop looking down like that! You're making me feel like I just kicked a puppy!

"Eh!" Eh? Why did you 'eh'? That's usually my line— Wait, hand, what in the hell do you think you're doing? Get off from up there right now! "Ah…."

Oh no, she's beginning to short circuit…. This isn't good at all. Hand, you really need to move _now_. Quickly, before you somehow do more damage to—

"Ah, so that's where you've been, Lefiya-chan." Before I could finish the thought, a chirpy voice sounded from behind the elf next to me, who I now assumed was actually named Lefiya and not Alf, and made me freeze. I could picture the scene in the anime now. The two of us, caught in a position that we'd rather not be in, would both look up slowly to face our captor, who in turn would be looming over us somehow, shrouded in darkness and sporting a smile that only the truest of villains could sport. Goddammit, how could I have possibly allowed myself to get roped into a situation so cliche?! "That's no good, Lefiya-chan! I know that not being able to go to Monster Feria with Ais-chan made you really sad, but you can't just shift focus like that. You'll give people the wrong idea!"

Unfortunately, upon looking up to see just who was talking, I found that the situation playing out in my head, was playing out in real life. Except for the whole dark energy part, of course.

There, standing over Lefiya, was a tan-skinned girl with medium-length, black hair who's state of dress told me she was probably an Amazoness. Probably noticing my looking at her, the new arrival shifted her brown eyes to meet my own and flashed me a grin that brought great fear to my heart. Suddenly, I felt like I was a deer who just caught sight of a lurking predator.

A part of me wondered if I could possibly avoid getting attacked by staying perfectly still, but I doubted that her vision was based on movement.

"Ah, wait, I remember you!" Goddammit, Wallenstein…. "You're the guy Ais-chan wanted to talk to while we were at Mama Mia's place, aren't you?" How many times is that going to be brought up today? All she wanted to do was ask me a question. A pretty innocuous one too! I don't care if she's never done anything like that before, it was just a question! "Ais-chan was pretty bummed out that you said 'no' to whatever she was asking you for, y'know?" Oi, don't pout like that after saying something like that. You'll trigger my kouhai based PTSD, if you do. "And now, you're going after one of her own familia? That's, like, incredibly mean of you! What do you have to say yourself, Fish-kun?"

Eh, 'Fish-kun'? Who's that? I don't anyone by that name. Are you asking me a question? If you are, then please refer to me by my name. What's that? You don't know it? Ah, looks like you've finally stumbled upon the point. Basically, please stop talking to me.

"Aha, the look on your face!" This girl….

In an incredibly ill advised move on my part, I opened my mouth to say something to the girl who was bullying me so openly and was almost immediately reminded of why I hadn't said anything back prior to this point.

Doubling over in pain, my hands instinctively went to apply pressure on my side, hoping in vain that it would help alleviate my suffering. Goddammit, this is why I shouldn't ever engage with riajuu….

"Eh, is there something wrong, Fish-kun?"

"Ah, r-right, my apologies for forgetting!" Ah, it seems that has finally finished rebooting. Thank kami, now please go get me help! I would really appreciate it. "We were doing battle with a Charging Wall and he was run over protecting me, so I could use my magic on it. Tiona-chan, we must get him to the Guild for treatment!"

"A Charging Wall?!" Being too preoccupied with being in pain, I couldn't see how Tiona reacted, but given the brief span of silence that followed the exclamation, I assumed that she had finally noticed the destruction around us. "Why didn't you just start with that? C'mere, I'll get you help, Fish-kun."

Ah, freaking finally! Y'know, for members of one of the strongest familia in Orario, you all certainly don't act like— Eh? Just where do you think you're touching? Wait, are you planning on—

When Tiona said that she'd go get me help, I believed that she'd go run to alert one of the medics of my location and have them come to me, but instead, she hooked an arm under my legs and one behind my back and picked me up off the ground. No, absolutely not! I refuse this future! I shall not be emasculated in such a fashion! Last time I checked, my name isn't Bell Cranel! I don't like this one bit!

Being physically unable to voice these denials, I was forced to bear with it. However, that didn't stop me from wanting to die of embarrassment.

"Lefiya-chan, can you still use any magic?"

"Y-Yes!"

"A whole bunch of monsters managed to break free from Monster Feria, you should head back to the Colosseum and see if sis and Ais-chan need any help." There was a moment of silence before Tiona spoke again. "Don't you worry about Fish-kun here, I'll make sure he gets help!"

"U-Understood. Oh, and, ah…." The elf suddenly turned to look my way. "Thank you again for protecting me. If we ever meet again, please don't hesitate in asking something of me. It's the least I can do for all you did today."

With that, I heard the tell-tale sign of footsteps click-clacking away from me, which I assumed meant that Lefiya had run off like she had been told.

"Hehe, aren't you super popular, Fish-kun?" As Tiona said me, air began to hit the right side of my body. That, coupled with the slight bouncing I was feeling, told me that she had begun running me to safety like she said she would.

If I could, I would've scoffed. How could I possibly be popular when I was sure that none of you even knew my name?

"What am I going to do with you, Hikigaya?" Some days, I couldn't help but feel as though that the only reason I had been thrown into a different world was to suffer. I didn't know if the all powerful deity responsible for my inter-dimensional travel just liked to watch random people be miserable, or if they somehow found out about my 'people to murder' list and decided that I needed to be punished. Either way, I currently hated them for the position they put me in right now. "You tried to fight a Charging Wall? You haven't even gotten to the seventh floor yet, what were you thinking?"

Having been taken to the Pantheon by Tiona for treatment, I had been immediately taken to a medic and given a health potion. Unfortunately, as I sat in the Guild's medical room, which was just a long room with a lot of beds lined up in a row, and waited for the potion to slowly do its job, a certain half-elf adviser happened to slip into the room for whatever reason and found me there. Now, I was once again being lectured.

Granted, from where she was standing over me, I could see where her anger came from. The reasons in which I would fight a monster as strong as a Charging Wall should've came to close to none, but here I was. Lying in a medical cot, waiting for my injuries to finish fully healing.

Fortunately, for the sake of my own sanity, my midsection had healed enough to the point where I could actually refute her. "I'm sorry. Next time I walk out of a bookstore and get attacked from out of nowhere, I'll be sure to approach the situation like Eina Tulle would. After all, she's the most sensible and most knowledgeable adviser in the world. I'm sure she'd approach the situation perfectly every time."

In response to my obvious sarcasm, the half elf pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. "This is the farthest thing from a laughing matter, Hikigaya."

'Laughing'? Do you see me laughing, Tulle? No, I'm actually lying in a medical because I got ran over by a running boulder and probably could've died if it wasn't for the busted elf that I just happened to run into, so please stop acting as though I haven't been taking this seriously.

"I just don't understand why'd you would ever make a decision like that. With your level of equipment, the idea that you would even consider attacking a monster that powerful is baffling to me."

At that, I snorted and moved my gaze away from my adviser. "I mean, it's not like you've ever known me to be someone who makes a lot of good decisions. What is this? The tenth lecture you've given me in the last month? Clearly, I'm nothing more than a problem child. Maybe it's about time you realized that, it'd probably save you a lot of trouble."

"Do you really think I'm that shortsighted, Hikigaya?" The outright challenge made my eyes widen. "I'm your adviser and, as an adviser, it's my job to help guide people through their careers as adventurers. I wouldn't be able to do that effectively if I wasn't good at getting a grasp on people's individual personalities and, while you've made no shortage of questionable decisions in the short time we've known each other, I know better than to believe you made them without reason. If you decided to fight that Charging Wall, you did so because you believed you had to."

Her words made me ball my hands up into tight fists.

_Stop_.

Despite my clear attempts to get away from the subject, Tulle wouldn't take a hint and pressed on with her questions, and as a result, I could feel myself being backed into a corner.

On all accounts, she was correct to be confused by my motivations.

When it came down to fight or flight, I definitely preferred the latter. Under any other circumstances, fighting that Charging Wall would never have crossed my mind, but those were far from normal circumstances and so, I felt justified in my reasoning.

The problem was that I had no idea how the explain it without sounding insane or, more likely, overly paranoid.

A monster like that getting all the way to the shopping district from the Colosseum? I wasn't too well versed with Orario's overall layout yet, but I knew that was more than a reasonable distance for it to get if it was truly just a monster who escaped its cage. Even then, it just happened to go through the alleyway I was in at the time, when there was far more opportunity to be destructive out on the main road? I would've chalked it all up to simple plot contrivance coincidence, but I couldn't fight this gnawing feeling that it was supposed to be there and that I had to fight it.

In retrospect, it was probably more likely that someone had sent it there to kill Lefiya, considering she's a member of one of the strongest familia in all Orario and I effectively didn't even exist to the secular world, but to be fair, I wasn't aware of just how busted she was at the time!

Still, I could tell that Tulle wasn't going to let me go without disclosing some information. I don't know if it was out of care, curiosity, or duty, but if my suspicions turned out to be correct, then I wasn't going to play my full hand to anyone just yet. Not that I didn't trust Tulle. At the very least, I trusted in her feelings for Cranel enough to not do me harm, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Especially in an open setting like this.

If my suspicions were correct and this did turn out to be some sort of orchestrated attack, I wanted to be one of the only few who knew about it. Information was like anything else of value — its value was based entirely on supply and demand. Control the prior and you could manipulate the latter. It was just that simple.

_Go_.

So, of course, I went for the option that gave me the most control. "Do you know how the Ganesha Familia managed to let those monsters escape?"

…

One might think that, after receiving treatment for having my chest caved in by a living boulder and narrowly escaping the suspicions of a nosy advisor, the first thing I would want to do afterward was trudge all the way back home to lay in bed. That person would be right, but unfortunately, I still had business to take care of.

The last I had seen Cranel, he had run off towards Monster Feria to give Syr back her coin purse. Taking into account the fact that he was the main protagonist, there was no doubt in my mind that he managed to get caught up in all the chaos.

I hadn't seen him at the Guild with the rest of the injured and, while she didn't know too much of the overall situation, Tulle had heard reports of something called a Silverback (I assumed it was a giant gorilla monster or something) rampaging through Daedalus Street, a labyrinthe area that apparently existed near the Colosseum.

Knowing my familia and his penchant for finding trouble well enough, I assumed that he probably had something to do with it one way or another. I also figured that if he did, he probably didn't come out of it unscathed, but seeing as I didn't see him at the Pantheon, it probably wasn't serious enough to need serious medical attention. That, or he received it from one of the field medics. Either way, that meant that if I was going to find him, I was best served to think in the general direction of the Colosseum.

That's why, for the second time today, I found myself standing in front of _The Hostess of Fertility_, but this time with the intention to actually enter.

Breathing in and out slowly, I began dragging my aching body down the final stretch into the tavern. Unfortunately, while health potions healed wounds at unrealistic speeds, they did so in a way that led to the person being healed feeling like they just sprant an entire marathon once the adrenaline wore off. That being said, I probably wouldn't even be standing, much less dragging myself around in the first place without it, so I really didn't have any room to complain about is finer mechanics.

"Ah, Hikigaya-san!" Just like always, the moment I stepped foot inside the tavern, I found myself being beset by a certain grey-haired barmaid, who just so happened to be serving a table next to the entrance. I didn't know whether or not to be surprised to find business bustling behind her. "Bell-kun's upstairs with your kami-sama, if you came here looking for them." Despite the fact that she was holding a tray full of drinks in her hand, she bowed her head in what I assumed was apology. Oho, how diligent~. "I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused. If I hadn't forgotten my wallet, they never would've been caught up in any of it."

"Are they injured at all?"

"No, thankfully." Flova let out a sigh as she straightened herself. "Your kami-sama passed out from exhaustion, but that's the worst of it." I couldn't help but feel a little unnerved when I noticed her eyes give me a once over as she went silent for a second. "From the looks of it, I'm guessing you got caught up in all of the chaos too?"

"That obvious, huh?" I hadn't bothered to check up on my appearance before leaving the Pantheon, so I really didn't know. Then again, the fact that I could feel passing breezes on parts of my chest and stomach probably should've been a big tip off to that. Damn, I hope the holes aren't too big.

Humming back in response, she smiled at me. "I've been working on my sowing, so I can take a look at your clothes if you want. It's the least I could do for being so much trouble."

"Thanks." Seeing as these were my only clothes and how I had already broken almost all of my current equipment, the last thing I could afford to do was decline a free service. Hell, I couldn't even afford to think about declining. "I'll be sure to send Cranel over one of these days with them."

"No, thank you! For everything." You picked up on that last part? Huh. Well, aren't you scary?

Humming back as to end our conversation, I made my way past the barmaid and up the stairs she had pointed me towards. I managed to get up about three-quarters the way up before catching sight of my white-haired familia, who was huddled under the stairs up to the floor above in fetal position, staring at a certain door in front of him.

"Oi, Cranel." The albino let out a high-pitched yelp at my sudden greeting. I waited for him to look back over his shoulder at me before continuing, "I heard that you and Hestia-sama had a run in with a Silverback."

"Ah, H-Hachiman!" Oi, you already know that it's me, there's no need to say my name like that. "What are you doing here?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but a certain deity cut me off before I could.

"Bell-kun…"

Upon hearing our kami-sama's muffled voice, Cranel's head snapped back towards the door he had been looking at a second earlier. "Ah, Hestia-sama's awake!"

I watched the albino shoot up off the ground and into the room I presumed Hestia-sama was resting in. Oi, I thought you fought a monster much stronger than yourself like I did? I know that you didn't get run over or anything, but how are you still moving around like you didn't break a sweat?

Letting out a sigh, I went up the last portions of stairs in front of me and followed my familia into our kami-sama's room.

Being lit by only a small oil lamp at her bedside, it framed Hestia and Bell in a way that I knew would look great in an illustration. The former was sitting up in her bed while the latter was kneeling at her bedside. Yep, best to just lean on the door frame and watch. I'd already been run over today, I didn't want to know what karmic justice would be enacted on me if I broke up such a picturesque scene.

"You had no idea how worried I was when I saw you collapse." Good starting line, Cranel! But now, how are you going to follow up? Remember, it doesn't matter how strong you start, but it's how you finish that really matters.

"Yeah, I guess I was more tired than I thought. I'm sorry about scaring you." Oh? It looks Hestia-sama is setting you up for a big play, how are you going to respond, dense familia of mine?

"I talked to Syr earlier and it looks like all of the monsters that escaped got taken care of." Alright, reassuring her that the danger is gone is decent, but you need to do better if you really want to capitalize on this flag— "Oh, and I heard Ais Wallenstein-san helped out too."

—Aaaand you failed. Better luck next time, Hestia-sama. You tried your hardest, but just as you can't squeeze blood from a rock, you can't get Cranel to read the mood. You have my most sincerest apologies.

"Huh? Well, how about that?" The pout on my kami-sama's face told the entire story. Yep, you've done screwed up that chance royally, Cranel. Then again, considering the look on your face, I can tell that you didn't even notice.

"Oh, by the way, I was wondering." With that exclamation, the albino boy reached down to his side and pulled out a knife-long, black sheath that I hadn't noticed when I first saw him. "This knife, does it really say Hephaestus?" Eh? "As in—?"

"—_The_ Hephaestus?!" As if to emphasize her own excitement, Hestia-sama brought her face close to Cranel's. "The one and only!" She pulled back and donned a more reserved expression as she continued and suddenly, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't supposed to be here. "Oh, come on, I've seen how you've always got your face squished up against her shop window. Now, I know it wasn't exactly what you were looking for, but Bell-kun…. It's the only one of its kind in the entire world and that's pretty neat, right?"

Yeah, I definitely wasn't supposed to be here.

"Listen, I don't want to just sit and watch. I've never liked being taken care of or fussed over."

This was a moment between the two of them.

"But how did you get this? Hephaestus weapons are insanely expensive."

I was just an intruder in it.

"It's already been handled! You want to be stronger and I want to help you! I know it's not much, but please let me do this. Okay?" I didn't belong here at all. "There's nothing I want more than to be the source of your strength. I love you with all my heart. Always."

I needed to get out of here before I caused something to go wrong.

"Kami-sama…." With tears pouring from his eyes, Cranel leapt forward and surrounded Hestia-sama in his arms, and she gladly reciprocated. "Kami-sama!"

"Please put your faith in me forever…."

I couldn't help but smile at the scene as I left it.

…

Sitting at the foot of the stairs leading out of the _The Hostess of Fertility_, I leaned my head back against the wall behind me and let out a sigh, waiting for Hestia-sama and Cranel to come out after they were finished with their moment.

Bored out of my mind, I thought back on all that happened today. I had been run over and nearly killed by a suspiciously placed Charging Wall, and in the process, met two members of the Loki Familia. One of which being a magic-inclined elf named Lefiya, who I assumed offered me a favor. That could definitely be taken advantage of— I mean, cashed in some day later.

Cranel had a similarly eventful day, somehow running across Hestia-sama and ending up fighting and killing a Silverback all by himself. I didn't know how he managed to do it, but it probably had something to do with that knife Hestia-sama had given him. Maybe he pulled some main character strats out of his ass and used those to kill it too. Either way, no matter how he managed, I had to give him credit. The fact that he had done it at all proved me wrong.

They boy I had met a few weeks ago couldn't have killed it.

Bell Cranel was changing, faster than I could've anticipated, and I couldn't afford to start lagging behind.

"Ah, Hachi-kun, you were here too—? Wait, what happened to you?!"

Oh, right…. Lol.

…

**Chapter End.**

* * *

**A/N:** Hey, so this is done. Had a fun time writing it. Came out much faster than I anticipated, but I was eager to finish this.

Anyways, in terms of the next chapter, it probably won't be the same length. As in, it'll probably be longer because I have a lot planned for it. Also, it probably won't come out this quick and will be more along the three-four mouths I lined out in chapter 1.

Mainly because I'm planning on doing some smaller, half chapters to put in between the much more serious chapters/arcs. These will consist of more personal, more romantic comedy esque stuff. They'll still be mandatory reading, though. There's just going to be a difference of tone and energy, so I'd rather separate them from the main bodies then risk ruining pacing or whatever.

That's all I had to say. Oh, and I'm cross-posting this on AO3. If you'd rather read the story there, then feel free to.


	4. Half Chapter 1: Orario is a Big Place

\- (actual line break) = POV shift (and if no character is specified, please assume we're going back to Hachiman).

... (centered ellipses) = scene change within perspective.

* * *

**My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy, Chapter 2.3 | Unfortunately, Orario is a Big Place .**

…

Back in my old world, I lived a life of comfort and leisure, where the only thing I really had to worry about was finding the energy to half-ass my school work. I never really had to worry about making my own money, buying my own food, or getting all that I needed to be a functioning member of society. The most I ever really had to do was clean up after myself and occasionally pick something up from the store.

That was thanks to my corporate slave parents, who worked themselves ragged every day to provide such a lifestyle to me and Komachi. Although that same effort brought on its own issues, they didn't make me ungrateful enough to resent them. I very much appreciated them and their efforts to make my life as easy as possible, which was a sentiment I felt heavily now that I was in Orario.

Why? Because I didn't have them to lean on anymore. Granted, thanks to me being a part of a familia, I wasn't being forced to be entirely self-sufficient, but the principle remained the same.

All of the things that I always left to my parents, I had to do now.

Ever since coming to Orario, I had become well-acquainted with those first two aspects of self-sufficiency, but outside of getting the supplies I needed for work and other general toiletries (which were usually handled by my kami-sama in the first place), the third had yet to rear its ugly head.

That was all up until I got run over by a Charging Wall.

"Hm…. Yep, these clothes are ruined." Hearing that, I let out a sigh as I tried to lean as far back into the couch as possible. There goes the money I would've saved taking Syr's offer, I guess. "With how bad a shape these are in, I suppose that I should be grateful that you didn't get seriously injured or anything."

Standing in front of me, holding the tattered remains of what were my only clothing out in front of her, Hestia-sama let out her own sigh, allowed her arms to drop to her sides, and flopped down onto the open space on the couch next to me. My brow twitched when she did so because she was resting her back onto the armrest, which meant that she was lying down, which meant that her legs were currently going over my own.

Oi, get off of me. I'm not a leg rest.

I tried to glare my complaints into her, but for whatever reason, her focus remained on the clothes in her hands. Seeing that, I shrugged and rested the back of my neck on the cushion behind me.

After the day I just had, it felt nice to be back at the church and waste time staring at the ceiling. I did it a lot back in my old world and, while I wasn't one who cared much for nostalgia, I appreciated the familiarity just this once. The only thing missing was Vita-chan….

"Ah, Hachiman, I found them." Of course, such moments of tranquility could only last for so long. "Here, catch!"

Being told to do something, my exhausted brain went into auto-pilot and forced my eyes to look down towards the voice. _Stop_. Something black is coming towards me slightly from my left, probably the spare clothes I asked Cranel for. It's heading right for my face. Catch. _Go_.

Doing all that without ever moving my head, I looked at what I had just caught and found that I had guessed correctly. In my hand was a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of similarly-colored pants. I stared at them for a moment, before turning to look at the boy who threw them.

Really? All black? Do you really not own clothes of any other color? I mean, technically your coat isn't, but even that has black on it somewhere. I get that your hair is white and all, but that doesn't mean you can get away with being this unoriginal.

"Sorry, by the way." Cranel scratched at the back of his head as he flashed me a smile. Given the context, I assumed he meant it to be apologetic. "They might be a little tight on you since you're a little taller than me."

"It's fine." Dropping the pants next to me, I slipped the shirt on and immediately felt that it was, in fact, tight. Not tight enough to consider taking it off, but certainly tighter than I was used to. "They'll do for now. Besides, it's better than sitting here in my underwear."

Hearing Cranel hum in affirmation, I tried to stand up as to slip my temporary pants on but stopped when I remembered that a certain someone had taken up the airspace over my lap with her legs.

Turning to face what was impeding me, I found that she was still solely focused on what was in her hands. I stared at her, waiting for her to notice my gaze and move on her own, but quickly realized that she was far too enraptured in whatever she was thinking about. I opened my mouth to get her attention, but Cranel cut me off before I could.

"Uh, Hestia-sama…?" For once, I didn't really mind the interruption.

The Goddess jumped at the mention. She turned to Cranel and then myself, and when her eyes met my own, I cast them down to draw attention to the issue.

"Ah, sorry!" Finally realizing her position, she pulled her legs back and turned to sit in a more conventional position, freeing me from my fleshy prison and allowing me to stand up. "I totally got lost in thought there." I shrugged and went about clothing myself. "What were you two talking about?"

"Oh, nothing really." Cranel answered as I pulled the pants up over my waist. Unlike the shirt, they actually fit pretty decently. Although, they did leave my ankles exposed, which I probably should've expected, but I felt annoyed nonetheless. "Did you have something on your mind, Hestia-sama? You had a pretty intense look on your face right there."

"Oh, that? Don't worry. I was just wondering if you two were planning on heading to the Dungeon tomorrow, is all." Turning to look at Cranel, his expression immediately told me what he thought about her answer: he wasn't buying it. "You two went through so much today, I was wondering if it might do the two of you some good to take the next few days off."

And frankly, I wasn't either. Clearly, there was something bothering her and it didn't take a genius to figure out that it had to do with what was left of my old clothes. Given the fact that I had chosen to be purposefully vague with some of the details of the whole incident, especially regarding its aftermath, that really didn't surprise me. Then again, it's not like it was my place to speculate.

Still, I assumed Hestia-sama said it for a reason, so I allowed myself to be led down whatever road she wanted us to go down.

"Considering that I'm going to have to replace most of my equipment, I can't really argue that." Turning towards my makeshift bed, I trudged over to it, ready to drop myself down onto it and put this day to an end. "I can really only speak for myself, though."

"Eh?" Cranel shot me a confused look as I passed him. Do I really have to spell this out for you?

Stopping right next to him, I met his gaze.

"You have a weapon, I don't." Turning away from him, I resumed my march towards my bed. "If you feel like heading down into the Dungeon tomorrow, don't let me stop you."

"Ah, but what are you going to do?"

Finally making it to my bed, I turned so that my back was facing the wall and collapsed down onto it. "I've got a favor I want to cash in."

"Oh, are you talking about that mage who you said killed that Charging Wall?" Cranel's face immediately brightened as he asked that. "Are you going to see if they can teach you how to use magic?"

…Huh, that was actually pretty inquisitive of you, Cranel. "Yeah. I don't really know their schedule and I figured that they wouldn't be going anywhere the day after something so big happening, so it seemed like the best opportunity."

"That's good thinking then… Ah, but what about replacing your equipment?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know how much time it's going to take to get that favor, but if worse comes to worst, I'll just push it off to the day after. By the way, when you drop by _the Hostess_ tomorrow, tell Flova that I won't be taking her up on her offer."

"Eh, 'offer'?" Cranel blinked and tilted his head.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. She just—"

"—Hey, Hachi…" Looking up towards the Goddess who said that, I couldn't help but notice the lack of honorifics. "This mage you're talking about, do you know who their kami is? I, uh, didn't make too many enemies up in Heaven, but they still might not like the idea of helping someone else's child."

"No, as far as I remember, she never mentioned it." I blinked and kept my face straight. The Kami may have come to Earth with built-in lie detectors, but just like everything else in the world, there were ways to circumvent it. You just needed to be smart about it. "If I ever get to meet them, I'll be careful."

"Oh, alright…." Things became silent after that, which meant the conversation was over. Good. I could finally get to sleep. As one could imagine, my body was screaming at me to get to sleep.

"Alright, if you two don't mind, I'm going to head to bed." Lying down back on my pillow, I turned to face the wall almost immediately, doing so without even thinking. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

Unsurprisingly, sleep didn't come easy.

…

Surprisingly, finding out where the Loki Familia lived wasn't difficult at all.

Considering their namesake, a part of me thought that they would've been bigger fans of discretion, but all I had to do was ask the first person who looked like an adventurer and they pointed me in their direction. Then again, they were one of the most famous familia in Orario, so maybe it shouldn't have been _that_ surprising.

That didn't stop me from feeling a bit cheated when I first saw it, though.

In all respects, the building known as Twilight Manor was a genuine article castle, which made it stand out even more given how it was surrounded by normal buildings. Tall and with several towers shooting up into the sky, the marble structure looked like something ripped right out of a gothic horror novel. Although, thanks to the fact that it was a bright and sunny day, it was a lot less intimidating.

"Hey, you there!" Having walked right up to the front gate, getting called out to by the two guards stationed at it didn't surprise me. The first thing that went through my head when I saw them was wondering if they were hired to be here or if they were members of the Familia, and if the latter was the case, how they managed to get stuck with such a mundane job. "State your business!"

"I'm here to see Lefiya. I have business with her."

Both guards seemed taken aback by the response, which in turn, took me aback. What? Is this the first time anyone's ever come here asking to see someone or something?

"Uh… My apologies, sir, but we were never informed of any visitors." Nameless guard to my right explained to me. Interestingly enough, his voice was lacking all of the bravado it had earlier, which suddenly made both men, despite being fully armed, feel like nothing more than glorified doormen. "May we have your name then?"

…Crap. I totally forgot that no one in this familia actually knew what my name was. How in the world was I going to…?

Goddammit.

Breathing in through my nose and then out through my mouth, I looked away from the two guards and replied with, "She'll know me as Fish-kun."

"Ah, I'm guessing you've met Tiona as well?" Hm? Well, at least you seem to understand my suffering, guard on the left.

…

Being an adventurer, you learned to get used to surprises.

As much of an oxymoron as that may be, it was the truth. The Dungeon and the monsters inside it operated like it would inside a video game, just not in the traditional sense.

The traditional dungeon in video games was strict and abided by certain rules, and while finishing it was absolutely meant to be a challenge, it was still meant to be completed. It was the player's job to learn and get used to playing by/exploiting those rules, as to make the process easier.

In that vein, Orario's Dungeon was a lot more fluid and life-like. It still had rules, but they were more akin to physical limitations. If I had to compare it to anything, it was a lot like playing an RTS as a child - where, in pursuit of a goal and lack of strategic sense, the only strategy it had was to send waves upon waves of its forces at opponents. That being said, an enemy like that was extremely dangerous, so learning how to adapt to and anticipate sudden change was mandatory if you wanted to be an adventurer.

"You!" That's how I was able to limit my reaction to blink when a scrawny, practically half-naked redhead came stomping out of Twilight Manor and started yelling at me from behind a pair of armed guards. Of course, I expected something like this would happen. Only an idiot would be dumb enough to walk up to a place like this and expect to just be let in. "You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here after what you did to my Ais-chan!" She pointed at me accusingly. "Now, you want to steal my Lefiya-chan away from me too? Give me one reason why I shouldn't have my guards throw you into the nearest ditch."

Ah, right. This awful misunderstanding subplot. Well, it's a good thing I can actually talk this time around. It'll make clearing this up much easier. Hopefully, if I clear this up with Loki herself, it'll keep this from spreading any further.

I opened my mouth to do so, but was almost immediately cut off by another voice coming from behind the Goddess. This one was also feminine, but just from hearing it, I could tell that the person speaking was more refined than the actual divine being glaring daggers at me. "Loki-sama, I understand your frustrations but please calm yourself. It may draw the attention of others."

"Aw, c'mon!" Like a twister, the trickster goddess turned to face the person talking. Due to the fact that I was leaning on a wall a bit aways from the front gate, I wasn't able to see who exactly it was. From what I could see, I could tell that she had long, green hair and was wearing a big white cloak. "I was only trying to scare him a little. It's the least he deserves, right?"

I blinked at that. Um… Excuse me?

Whoever was speaking to Loki let out a sigh, shook her head, and deftly stepped around the redhead and into view, allowing me to realize that I saw her the night Cranel ran out of _The Hostess of Fertility_. There were two elves at the table then; one was Lefiya and the other was standing right in front of me and I had to say, she was more of what I was expecting.

"My name is Riveria Ljos Alf, daughter of Larfal Ljos Alf, heir to the Elven Kingdom, and vice-captain of the Loki Familia." Green eyes trained on me, her face remained neutral as she addressed me. I felt my body tense up in ways that it hadn't done so in months. "State your name, affiliation, and your business with my pupil."

"…H-Hachiman Hikigaya from the Hestia Familia." 'Heir to the elven kingdom'? As in the princess of the entire elven race? She's your _vice_-captain? Kami, I knew that your familia was considered one of the strongest in Orario, but just how powerful are you, Loki? "I'm here to talk to Lefiya."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that, but what did you wish to speak with her about?"

Involuntarily, I swallowed hard at that. So far, the princess of the elves was living up to her moniker, which meant that I was going to have to watch my next words carefully. It's a good thing that I've already had plenty of practice with this sort of thing. "I wanted to know if she could teach me to use magic."

In response to that, the elf closed her eyes and nodded her head. If this were anyone else, I would see that as her contemplating what I was saying, but having known and talked to other high-status women, I knew better than to give myself hope. All she was doing was thinking about the best way to reject me.

"May I ask what your relationship with Lefiya is?" Eh, so you're actually going to pretend to give me a chance? Not that I didn't already see this coming, but I don't know whether to call you cruel or merciful, Alf-oujo-sama.

Not wanting to waste the time being rejected would take, I pushed off of the wall I was leaning on and turned back towards home. I knew how to pick my battles and this wasn't one I was going to win, at least not without—

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?"

—getting her to stoop down to my level.

"Leaving." I wanted to smirk, but I kept myself from doing so as I turned to face her and Loki again. That would make what I was trying to do far too obvious. "You're just going to tell me 'no', so I figured I'd save us both some time."

"Presumptuousness on your part, child." Her facial expression remained the same, but I could tell from her words that I was beginning to get under her skin. "You claim to know my words before I say them?"

"'Presumptuousness'?" I raised a brow at her, doing my best to seem truly confused. "No, I figured I was just being pragmatic. I'm a stranger from a different familia, who's asking for a lot. It's not like I came here expecting to be welcomed with open arms."

The princess scoffed in response to my statement. "What pragmatism could there be in attempting to leave a conversation before its proper conclusion?"

"What pragmatism could there be in speaking your case when you already know how it's going to be received?"

"If you believe you have a case, then you should speak it despite the opposition." The elf's eyebrows twitched downward as she said that. "If there is any sense to it, I promise that I shall listen."

"Really?"

"Truly."

_Stop_.

Hearing that made me really want to grin, as it basically meant that she fell for the verbal trap that I had set for her. Really, it was all her own fault.

That fact that Riveria Ljos Alf was royalty might've meant a lot to others, but to me, all it did was make me wonder, 'Why was the heir to the Elven throne here, in Orario, heading an expeditionary-type familia when she could be back home being a princess?'

In my mind, three possible scenarios could've happened: either her family sent her here against her will, she came here against their will, or finally, some combination of the two. What she just said confirmed that it was most likely the second one, but even before that, I assumed that was more or less the case.

Logically, why would a royal family willingly sign off to have their heir risk her life every day? Power and prestige? Pft, please. She was going to become queen. She couldn't have more of either if she tried. Sure, having a kami's blessing was absolutely nothing to scoff at and coming back home with it would definitely solidify her the security of her reign, but it just seemed like too much of a risk all things considered.

That meant that she most likely came here on her own accord and probably did so while facing stiff resistance; which, even if she was actually telling the truth about listening to me from the outset, was a good thing to remind her of as I tried to do the same.

_Go_.

"Has Lefiya talked to you about what happened yesterday at all?" Alf nodded. "Then, you should already know that she offered me a favor."

"And you would use that as justification for your request? While I fully acknowledge my student's offer, I must contend with the idea that your actions could be considered as adequate recompense." With the political grace that I assumed could only be obtained from years in royal court, Alf tried to cut me down from the start. From the confidence in her voice, I could tell that it wasn't a move made out of desperation. Rather, it was one made in favor of decisiveness - end the battle with a single blow all that sorta stuff. "If you truly believe the contrary, then I must remind you, you are asking Lefiya to bestow upon you her time, energy, and knowledge; all of which could be better spent on training and her familia. I thank you for going to such lengths to protect her and I would be more than willing to discuss other methods of compensation with you, but unfortunately, you vastly overestimate the value of life and limb here in Orario."

Yep, that's what I figured you'd say, although I'm kinda insulted that you'd even think I'd consider saying that. Did I accidentally introduce myself as 'Bell Cranel' or something? I'm fully aware of how expendable I am in the grand scheme of things, thank you very much. "That was the plan initially, but I think I have a way to make it beneficial for both of us."

"Hm?" The elven princess crossed one arm over her chest and cupped her chin with the other. "And what do you propose?"

Next to her, Loki's brows suddenly raised, which was the most interested she looked in the conversation since it started. Yeah, of course, she'd only become interested in when it could actually benefit her.

"Lefiya has issues with her confidence, right?" For the first time the whole conversation, the princess showed emotion, although it was very minute. The edges of her lips fell ever so slightly. If I was anyone other than myself and I didn't spend absurd amounts of time reading other people's body language, I probably would've missed it completely. "Does it keep her from being able to use it in magic at all?" Alf was silent, but that told me as much as I needed to hear. "She had the same problem yesterday, but she managed to use it. You want to know what that tells me?"

"And what is that, child?"

"She doesn't think you need her." Looking off to the side, I didn't get to see her reaction, but I assumed that she was either surprised or troubled. "And really, can you even blame her? You're all so strong that I'm sure that whatever trouble you manage to get into, you can get out of without much help from her." I frowned as I went on. "And, to be honest, I don't think you making decisions for her is going to help that much."

"So, you would use my student's insecurities to further your own goals?"

The challenge made me turn back to the future ruler. From the look in her eyes, I could tell that she was no closer to backing down. "Yeah, but I just think that she should be the one telling me 'no' and not you."

"Lefiya is naught but a child and still has much to learn of the world. She—"

"—She's level 3. I've seen her kill a monster I couldn't put a scratch on with a single spell. You might think you're keeping her safe, but at some point, that just turns into coddling." All of a sudden the inside of my mouth started to feel really dry. "Look, I can't guarantee that teaching me to use magic will help Lefiya get over her problems, but I do think you trusting her to make that decision for herself will help more than you'll ever know."

Things were quiet after I said that, which I considered good because it told me that the princess was actually giving what I said some thought. That, and it let me become acutely aware of how balled up my fists were. Breathe, Hachiman.

"Eh, I say let the kid ask." Surprisingly, neither one of us broke the silence.

Turning towards the speaker, I found her smiling at me in a way that made a cold shiver go down the length of my spine - one that reminded me far too much of a certain older sister I knew, but far more potent. Admittedly, I didn't know a lot about Norse mythology, but yeah, the woman standing in front of me was without a doubt Loki.

"Loki-sama, what are you saying? What of all the possible ramifications with the other familia? Such cooperation would surely cause issues for us in the future."

The unassuming goddess turned her head towards her vice-captain and shrugged. "You gotta admit he made some alright points and if it ends up with Lefiya-chan reaching her true potential, then I don't see any harm in him throwing the idea her way. Besides, it's not like him or his shrimp of a goddess have got much of a rep going for them right now, right? Something like this can be smoothed over easily."

Seeing a perfect opportunity to interject, I ignored the jab at my kami-sama and followed up with, "I'm not asking that Lefiya be my personal tutor forever, I just need her to show me where to start. Once we're done with that, I'm done."

In response to that, Alf stared at her kami for several moments, before turning to me and asking, "And you would truly leave it at that?"

I nodded, to which, she nodded back.

"Guards, one of you show Hikigaya-san to the courtyard, I shall send Lefiya there." As she said that final bit, the elven princess turned back towards Twilight Manor. "Boy, tell her to come to my chambers once you're finished, understood?"

"Aye, aye, Alf-oujo-sama."

Seeing her vice-captain leave, Loki went to do the same, but halfway to the entrance, the goddess suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder at me, giving me a lackadaisical wave before getting back on her way. Another shiver ran down the length of my spine.

Um… Did I just unwittingly make a deal with the devil or something?

"Heh." Suddenly, one of the guards in front of me reminded me of their presence. "Looks like Loki-sama really likes you, Fish-kun."

I sighed. Yep, this idea is already starting to seem like more trouble than it's worth.

…

Waiting in the Twilight Manor's courtyard, leaning on one of the pillars with my arms crossed over my chest, I couldn't help but feel as though there was a mocking monologue to be had about the castle's interior; especially since all of its brightly-colored carpets, plush-looking furniture, and copious amounts of light crystals gave it a much homier feel than its gothic-horror exterior. Unfortunately, something like that would take energy and motivation that I didn't currently have.

Besides, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Ah, it's you?" Hearing Lefiya's voice coming from my right, I turned my head towards it and found the pink-clad elf standing to my right with a big book in her arms. Expecting her to follow that up with something, I stared and she stared back, up until the point she jumped for some reason and got all panicky for whatever reason. "S-So, if you are here, I assume that you are fully recovered?"

I blinked at the stuffiness of her tone but decided to let it slide. "Well, I'm here, aren't I?"

"Indeed, you are." Oi, you don't get to try and act all cultured and sophisticated when you just got off looking like you're about to have an emotional breakdown. "S-So, why are you here? Did you need something of me?"

"You remember that favor you offered me?" Not wanting to waste time at all, I just came right out with what I was here for. She took a moment and then nodded. "Can you teach me how to use magic?"

"E-Eh?!" That's all it took to bring you back, huh? "T-Teach you to use magic? Do you understand the magnitude of what you're asking of me? Magic is not like any other item, it cannot just be so carelessly handed out. You are from another familia, such questions are much better being brought up to—"

"—I already asked Alf and Loki, and they said it'd be alright." Somehow, my interruption only caused the elf to become more dumbfounded, which confused me. "So, can you or not?"

"…Alf-sama actually agreed to such a request?"

I shrugged. Well, 'agreed' definitely wasn't the right word for it, but seeing as Lefiya was even asking the question, then I figured that she would already know as much. "Would I have even gotten to this point if she didn't?"

"That is true…." Lefiya angled her head downwards and was quiet for a moment, before looking back up at me with a look of what I assumed was trepidation. "But what would possess you to believe me to be a suitable teacher? I am naught but a student myself, but more so than that, I'm a disgrace! I have taken three steps towards divinity and yet, if I were without your protection yesterday, I surely would have perished. Surely, there must be others who are more qualified than I."

Hearing that made me want to sag my shoulders and sigh, but seeing as that wasn't going to help my cause at all right now, I settled for doing so in my head. _Stop_.

Insecurity was a fickle thing to work around, mainly because of how nebulous it was in nature. It didn't take the same form in every person and its cause could range from being solely self-imposed to all exterior factors, and everything else in between. Someone could see their insecurity as an obstacle that keeps them from doing certain things or the force that pushes them towards others; either way, that just meant that all cases had to be dealt with on a per individual basis.

For example, due to his grandfather dying and leaving him all alone to fend for himself, I could rightfully assume that Cranel's insecurities are all based on his social standing with others. He wants to care for others and for others to care for him back, and so, he latches onto the idea of the mythical hero and becoming just like them to achieve that goal. Then, he comes to Orario, gets rejected by most familia on the basis of being weak-looking, and develops a power complex because he didn't fit the image that he strives to emulate.

In Lefiya's case, her insecurities lie within similar spheres but manifested themselves in different ways.

Based on her behavior up until this point, I felt pretty safe in assuming that she wanted to be someone who could be relied upon. Unfortunately, her familia is so powerful that she can't help but raise the expectations she has for herself, which leads to her putting pressure on herself to perform. However, that pressure only causes her to tense up and become indecisive when called upon and to her, not being able to act when called upon is a grave failure, so her confidence wanes significantly as a result. That lack of confidence then feeds into her self-doubt and causes her to put even more pressure on herself, and so on and so forth.

Given the fact that she reached level three, it's safe to assume that not everything she did resulted in failure, but clearly the damage to her self-image had already been done. If it's to the point of being irreparable, that's yet to be seen, but if she was ever going to break the cycle, she needed to act on her own accord.

That's why I needed to give her a good push now, no matter what direction she ended up going in.

_Go_.

"Maybe, but they're not the ones who owe me a favor."

"But—"

"—Were you not taught how to use magic at some point?"

"Yes, but—"

"—Then what's actually keeping you from helping me?" The elf took a step back after the question. "Is there an actual reason or is it just because you don't think you can do it? If it's the latter, then trust me, I wouldn't have wasted the time coming here if I didn't think you had anything to offer me."

Pushing off the post I was standing on, I wasn't surprised to see Lefiya's shoulders tense. I turned my head away from her as I continued, "I'm not here to force you to help me. If you want to decline, just go ahead and do it, otherwise stop wasting my time."

I waited for a response and after what felt like a small eternity, I got one.

"I… I do not know if I'll be able to help you." Having already expected to be disappointed, a part of me wanted to sigh and turn to leave at just that, but her words pointed towards her not being finished, so I fought against my own nature and stayed put. "But if you truly wish for me to be your teacher then…" The energy in her voice made me turn to face her and when I did, I found that her expression radiated the same emotion. "…Then I shall do it! I will give it my all!"

Finally being able to see the girl who saved me yesterday, I smiled.

Suddenly, before I was able to reply, Lefiya jumped and returned to her previous state. "Ah, my apologies." Eh? What's with the sudden embarrassment? "But it seems that all of this time, I never once got your name."

Hmph, of course. "Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Greetings, Hachiman Hikigaya. I am Lefiya Viridis, it will be a pleasure to work with you."

…

My time at Twilight Manor should've ended there. After that, I explained to Viridis how to get into contact with me once she worked out all of the details of our arrangement and she bid me farewell.

As my luck may have it, however, I wasn't allowed to leave the lair of the Loki Familia just yet.

"It seems that you've made quite the impression on my little Leffy-chan, Hikigaya." If I had to put a statistical value on the amount of surprise I felt upon suddenly hearing Loki talking to me, I would've given it a big, fat zero. Actually, I would've given it a number more zero than zero if I could. I mean, she basically telegraphed the move with the way she waved to me earlier, so I would've needed to have been blind to be surprised at all. "I don't think I've ever seen her look at someone like that before."

Like a snake slithering out from the shadows, the red-headed goddess revealed herself, spinning around from behind a pillar to my left. She exaggeratedly brought the back of her hand to her forehead and leaned back, pretending to be faint. "And you've managed to get my precious Ais-chan's attention too?" And, as if to accentuate the fact that she was acting, she quickly snapped to a more intimidating stance with her hands on her hips and a large smile. "Have you always been this popular, Hikigaya?"

I snorted at the question. "What are you talking about? I've never been popular a day in my life."

"Oh, really?" Tilting her head, the trickster goddess started to close the distance between us. "Then how do you explain all of the attention you're getting?"

"I don't know." Doing my best to keep composed, I shrugged. "Happenstance?"

Now standing directly to my right, she suddenly raised her right hand up and reached towards me, which forced me to take a step back to avoid it. Unfortunately, my reaction only caused her to smile even more. "One of the strongest adventurers in Orario, a once in a lifetime elven prodigy, and three goddesses," she raised her fingers as she listed off. "All of that interest just can't be 'happenstance', can it? There has to be something special about you, right?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "'Three goddesses'?"

"Well, yeah, of course, there's that fat shrimp of a kami of yours." Her jab made my brow twitch. "And the last two? Those have to stay a secret for right now, but know that you've got more eyes on you than you think."

With that last bit of vagary, the trickster goddess (thankfully) took a step back and turned to walk away from me, which prompted me to do the same. Before she was entirely out of earshot though, I made sure to say, "Thanks for the warning, Loki."

All I got back was a hum, which made me want to laugh. All of a sudden, as I walked out of Twilight Manor and back onto the open street, the buildings around me started to feel much larger than they did when I first entered.

The thought that other kami were keeping an eye on me didn't bother me at all. Actually, I fully expected something like this to happen at some point, given the rarity of my skill, but this quickly? Why? What could've caused that much attention to go my way?

The first thing that came to mind was my fight against the Charging Wall. It did end up running me over in the end, but the common consensus seemed to be that I should be called crazy for even attempting to fight it. Plus, all things considered, I think I did pretty alright against it thanks to my skill, so that may have turned heads my way if it just so happened people were looking.

Ah, no, that doesn't make sense. If my assumptions were correct and the attack yesterday was planned, then it was possible that someone could've been meaning to kill Viridis and me foiling those plans definitely would've caught their attention, but then if that was the case, why would Loki know about it at all? The ways of the kami were strange, but they weren't strange enough to put one of their own children at risk and if another kami was behind it, then how would Loki know about their interest at all? Besides, if she were told at all, it would've needed to happen sometime yesterday night and that was an extremely short time frame.

Unless, of course, Loki knew about the attack beforehand and she just didn't think any of the monsters could harm anyone in her familia, so she did nothing to stop it, which while morally negligent was a possibility.

Either way, that could also mean that whoever was paying attention to me had done so before the Charging Wall incident and that was something to worry about. I frowned and shook my head. Man, why couldn't I have just been wrong?

"It's you." Hm? Oh, yeah. Why would I ever think that I'd be able to deal with this familia without running into her?

It seems that, no matter what I did, the sword princess was unavoidable.

* * *

**Interlude 6 | Once Again, Ais Wallenstein is Avoided.**

…

As I returned home from retrieving Desperate from Goibniu, there were many people I expected to meet at the gates of my familia's home, the stray cat wasn't one of them. At first, it was just his presence that confused me, but as my gaze lingered on him, I became confused as to what he was doing.

He was standing still with his head tilted upwards, staring at nothing. Was he deep in thought? Surely, there were better places to do so if he was.

"It's you." The stray cat flinched as I made myself known to him, but surprisingly, he didn't try and run away. Seeing that confused me since he had a clear route to flee in if he so wanted.

"Yeah, it's me." He answered, not even turning to look my way. "Who would I be if I were anyone else?"

Hm? "Why are you here?"

Slowly, he turned his head to face me and like he did in our last encounter, the cat-like boy glared at me before it eventually gave way to a sigh. Notably, it had taken him less time to do so than our last meeting. "I had business with Viridis."

"Lefiya?" I tilted my head at that. "Ah, you two met yesterday, correct?"

He hummed and nodded. "If you want the details, you can go and ask her, but if that's all you wanted, I'll be going now."

After he said that, the boy began to walk in my direction. Ah, so you're attempting to flee now? Oh, wait. "Wait a moment, I have a question about your familia."

Stopping right next to me, I fully expected a glare from the stray, but instead, he turned to look at me. "What about him?"

"How…" Hm, how do I ask this? "How has he grown so strong so quickly? I saw him fight and kill a Silverback on his own yesterday. Typically, such a feat shouldn't be possible for an adventurer of his experience."

For whatever reason, he didn't respond to me immediately. Instead, he waited a moment before shrugging. "You're asking the wrong person, Wallenstein. I may be his familia, but I don't know everything about him." He looked away from me after he said that. "Still, if you're going to expect anything out of him, I'd stop thinking along what's typical. Trust me, it'll help in the long run."

I tilted my head at his response. "Is there something wrong?"

"Hm?" His voice was calm, but his eyes were wide. Something was definitely wrong.

"Based on our previous meeting, I hadn't expected you to actually answer." Seeing that there was a possible issue afflicting him, I spoke my mind freely. "You've also been much less rude as well. If I'm incorrect, please forgive me, but I cannot help but feel as though there's something afflicting you."

He narrowed his eyes at me and opened his mouth, but he said nothing at first. Instead, he looked away first before doing so. "Do me a favor. Learn my name before you start acting like you know me."

With that, the stray cat scurried away once more, all without answering my question.

* * *

In almost all literature, jump cuts and scene transitions were a necessity, mainly because they were essential in helping the author control the pace of their story. This bases itself on the idea that everything presented to the audience should be important in some capacity. Not just to the plot, but to the characters, world, etc.

That being said, whatever's being shown also has to be interesting to keep the audience's attention and that's where the jump cut really shined.

By nature, people were creatures of habit and repetition, and generally, those two things were the antithesis of interesting. Even if someone lived a life that was worthy of having a story written about it, if the same general beats were repeated over and over again, the repetition would slowly make it more and more boring.

That's why characters were rarely shown during their moments of downtime - such time generally being unimportant, boring, and repetitious. Unfortunately, however, I lived in real-time and such moments couldn't be skipped over.

Letting out a sigh, I sat myself down onto the bench and did my best to sink down into it, my eyes traveling up Babel Tower as I did so.

Despite what I said a few days ago, Orario was actually a pretty big place. Nowhere as big as any modern city, but without any form of public transportation, getting from place to place could still take a while. For example, I left the abandoned church a bit after sunrise and when I got to Twilight Manor, the Sun was close to a quarter way into the sky, which probably meant that it took me an hour or two to get there. Then again, it's not like I was in any real hurry to get there, so maybe I was overestimating the time a bit….

Eh, whatever. The point was that getting around Orario took a fair amount of time, even if you were trying.

That fact, however, didn't keep me from having a full day ahead of me to waste.

A part of me thought about heading to the Pantheon, pulling some valis from my account, and replacing all of my broken equipment, but unfortunately, despite all of the work that I've put in the past month, that level of proactivity was still beyond me.

Still, in lieu of sitting all alone in a run-down church with nothing to do, I decided to drag myself all the way out to Babel Tower and sit outside it for a little to watch people as they came and went - something that I used to do back in my world when I got bored and had gotten sick of being cooped up in my room.

Not the Babel Tower part obviously, but at a park near my house, which still worked out well enough since the area right outside the tower was basically a park.

Being one of the wide brick roads that led right to the tower, large crowds of people came and went from the tower, filling the air with chatter. As naturally as I breathed, my eyes went from group to group as they passed by me, scanning each in an attempt to ascertain their purpose here just off of appearances.

Some were relatively simple to figure out, like all the groups that were heading towards the tower with armor on and weapons at the ready. It didn't take a genius to understand that they were meaning to go into the Dungeon and earn some valis.

All the people that were in casual attire? Well, they were probably adventurers too, but instead of going down into the Dungeon, they were probably here to go up into the tower to spend their hard-earned valis.

The wagons that were being pulled to and from the tower? They were probably getting supplies to the shops up in the tower, so the people could easier spend those hard-earned valis.

…Wow, the center of the world really is just a glorified mall isn't it?

"Finally!" Eh? In the sea of camaraderie and cheer going on in front of me, the sound of conflict caught my attention immediately. "There you are! Where the hell have you been, you waste of space? You do know that it's not _your_ time you're wasting by being this late, right?"

_Stop_.

Using my power to slow the crowd, my eyes shot in the direction of the voice and I found the creator near instantly. It was some generic-looking guy in a red coat. Average height, unremarkable long sword strapped to his back, and long black hair that was tied up into a ponytail. Really, the most striking thing about his appearance was how clearly meant to be a nothing side antagonist.

The nothing side antagonist was looking downwards, specifically at a hooded figure with a backpack twice their size on their back. Not that the backpack itself was big, it was just that its owner was really short. My first thought was that they were a dwarf, but then I realized that they lacked the width necessary to make that distinction. Pallum, maybe? Then again, it's always possible that they were just really short.

_Go_.

Whatever the backpacker's deal was, it didn't seem like they were at all affected by being yelled at.

"Nothing to say for yourself? Tch, typical." They didn't even flinch when the nothing side antagonist weakly drove his fist into their skull. "Come on, let's get moving. We have a lot of time to make up for."

Ah, so you're some sort of supporter then, backpack-san?

I found myself being confused by the concept. Moreso by the fact that it had never been formally explained to me at some point, but now that I thought about it, it made sense. Of course, a job like that would exist. When an entire city's economy is based around a certain place meant for certain people, it'd be naive to think that the only people capable of making money off it would be those people.

…Great, now I'm just confused as to why the thought hadn't crossed my mind sooner. I blame Cranel.

With that, I watched the red-coated nothing turn towards Babel Tower and start walking towards it, which prompted his supporter to follow suit. Go forth, you living embodiment of class division! May you somehow find a way out of your current predicament. Hell, I even hope you also find a way to give that guy his comeuppance. Not enough to actually go do something about it, but I'll hope that for you anyways.

I was about to close my mind off to the situation entirely, but right as I was about to turn my attention away, the pair passed by the bench I was on and I noticed something about the supporter.

Under their hood, they were smiling.

I chuckled and smiled to myself at that.

…

**Chapter End.**

* * *

**A/N:** I'm going to answer your first question. Is this all that I've been doing the past month or so?

The answer is no. This was actually supposed to be a part of a bigger chapter (as of right now, it's at 15,000 plus words and counting), but upon reflection, I've realized that it would work better if I split in half and posted it in two parts. It's mainly just a tone thing. It kinda splits into two halves towards the middle, so here's the first bit.

The second part shall come out in the next few weeks or so since I've only got a few more scenes to finish.

Also, announcement, upon having been asked if this story is being posted to SpaceBattles, I have decided to post it to some sort of forum. Just some questions first for those savvy with the cultures there. If I do, would I be pulling some sort faux pas since it's inspired a story that's super popular there? And if that might be an issue, what other sites should I consider posting to? I know of Sufficient Velocity and Questionable Questing, but would my story fit there?

Also, another question of a different topic, considering my current schedule of chapters taking a few months to get posted, would that be a problem? And what would y'all suggest I do to remedy that if anything at all? Feel free to either DM or leave your responses in your review. Thanks.

Anyways, depending on your feedback, I'll have an answer on the forum question ready by the time I post the second half of this in-between chapter.


	5. Half Chapter 2: The God has Favorites

\- (actual line break) = POV shift (and if no character is specified, please assume we're going back to Hachiman).

... (centered ellipses) = scene change within perspective.

* * *

**My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy than I Expected, Chapter 2.6 | Of Course, The Goddess has Favorites. [Edit]**

…

"Wait, Tulle asked you to do what tomorrow?" I narrowed my eyes as I asked Cranel that question.

In response, the boy tilted his head at me.

Having come back to the church after getting tired of my fallback plan, I ended up doing exactly what I wanted to avoid and sat inside an empty basement, waiting for Cranel and Hestia-sama to come back from their respective responsibilities. Luckily, boredom got to me after a while and I was eventually able to fall asleep, mercifully making that time go by much faster.

Unfortunately, however, that mercy only lasted right up to when my albino familia came crashing through the door with more vigor than he usually had, yelling something about Tulle and Floor Seven. Admittedly, I didn't actually understand most of it at the time, due to the fact that I had just gotten up from a nap.

"Oh, my bad, did you not hear me?" He smiled and started scratching at the back of his head. "I was talking to her about maybe letting us head down to Floor Seven and—"

"—No, no, I heard all of that perfectly fine." Sensing that my familia member was about to start rambling, I cut him off before a snowball could turn into an avalanche. "Just repeat that last part again."

"Oh, ah, she told me that she wanted to meet with me tomorrow."

I nodded, seeing that I heard that part without issue. "Alright, why?"

The question made Cranel glance up towards the ceiling. Oi, didn't you just come back from the Guild? How are you already having trouble remembering this? "Um… She said something about wanting to take me shopping for better armor?"

The ease in which he said that made me want to stagger over.

So, you're finally making a move, Tulle? Isn't it a bit early to be showing your hand like that? Then again, considering that the guy you're pursuing completely glossed over your intent for asking him out in the first place, maybe it was a smart idea to get out ahead of everyone else in the arms race.

I opened my mouth to call my familia out on that, but before I could, he asked, "Why do I feel like you're about to tell me that I just said something really dumb?"

Breathing in and out deeply, I smiled at my familia. Well, at least, you're finally starting to learn.

…

"A d-d-date?! You think Eina-san asked me out on a date?!"

"Cranel, think about it for a second." Massaging the bridge of my nose, I let out a sigh that I hoped properly conveyed my current level of exhaustion. Once again, I'm astounded by the lengths of your denseness. "Tulle is my advisor too. Why do you think she only asked you to go out shopping with her?"

"M-Maybe it's just because you weren't there today!" Panicked, the boy grasped onto the first explanation that he could think of, which, coincidentally, was also the dumbest ones that could've come out of his mouth. "I'm sure that she wouldn't mind if you came with me tomorrow!"

…I'm sorry, Tulle. All this time, I've mentally lambasted you when, in reality, I should've pitied you instead.

"Cranel, trust me, the last thing she's going to do if I do that is 'not mind'." Me still being me, the words felt strange and foriegn coming out of my mouth. How did I ever end up in a position where I needed to be the one explaining social convention? "Look, date or not, just go ahead and meet up with her tomorrow. I still need to get all of my gear replaced anyways, so it actually works out."

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's not a date—" Before my familia could finish saying something incredibly dense again, he was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of wood smacking against wood.

Already knowing who it was, my body stiffened up in fear. The sound her footfalls made were light and airy, as to reflect her small size, but they may as well have been as loud as thunder as they traveled towards me and Cranel. I could practically already see the dark mist leaking past the foot of the stairs.

"Bell-kun…" I swallowed hard. Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and Home, had returned from work and she was angry. "What did I just hear you say about a date?"

…

"Ah, so it's actually not a date? Your advisor just wanted to accompany you while you picked out better armor?" In response to Hestia-sama's question, Cranel nodded his head more frantically than a killer ant's antennae. The goddess smiled at the boy with her eyes closed for a moment, before her eyes shot open and revealed the glare she had most likely been hiding the entire time. "Like I'd believe something like that. This is clearly meant to be a date."

"E-Eh?! You too, kami-sama?" Watching my familia reel back so much that he fell ass first on the floor was pretty hilarious, despite the anxiety that coursed through my own veins. Especially since doing so forced him onto a lower level than our small goddess, who was sitting down on the couch. "Eina-san couldn't have asked me out on a date. Girls only do that for guys they like, right? So, why would she ever want to do that with someone like me? I mean, she's super smart and knowledgeable, and kind and understanding, and—"

"—Oi, you both know that a date doesn't necessarily have to be romantic, right?" Sensing killer intent rising in my kami, I chose to interrupt my party member before she went on a killing spree. "In the end, isn't it just another name for two people getting together? So, I wouldn't put too much thought into it."

"Ah, r-right!" Seeing the out I presented him with, Cranel latched onto my words like a hand meant to pull him off of a cliff face. Oi, why are you pointing at me all of a sudden? "Just like that girl you went on those practice dates with, right, Hachiman?"

"W-Wait, date?!" Oi, Hestia-sama, what's with the incredulous look? Also, Cranel, specify goddammit! "Hachi-kun, you've gone on dates?"

I frowned and glared at my kami. "What's with that question? I'm a pretty smart guy and while no one else seems to see the value, my looks are at least above average. That makes my specs pretty above average, y'know?" Having properly defended myself, I turned my head back towards the ceiling. "Besides, I'd hardly even call any of that a 'date'."

"Um… How can something called a 'date' not be a 'date'?" Sounding eerily like me when I heard Cranel say something incredibly stupid, Hestia-sama ended up asking me the same question he did when I told him about my pratice dates with Isshiki. "Are you sure that you weren't just misinterpreting this girl's intentions?"

"Considering that she would make it exceedingly clear that she was just using me to test out ideas she wanted to use for the guy she actually likes, I sure hope not." Besides, being on the receiving end of that treatment got me a glimpse as to how it was like on the other side and I didn't envy Hayama at all. "Also, she felt fit to reject me near every time we've spoken, despite the fact that I've never once spoken to her with that intention. So, yeah, I don't think that was the case at all."

"Wow, I genuinely don't know what part of that I find more depressing…."

Hmph, depressing to you maybe…. "Still, it proves my point, right?"

"Hm, I guess…." Not looking her way, I could imagine my kami-sama glaring at me with her fingers cupped around her chin. "I'll allow it, but I still don't like it! Bell-kun, you be careful tomorrow, got it?"

Cranel let out a sheepish chuckle and nodded. "Understood, Hestia-sama."

Thinking that the conversation was over, I tried to focus my mind back onto falling back asleep, but before I could, my kami-sama asked another question. "So, if you're going shopping tomorrow, what are you going to be doing all day, Hachi-kun?"

"Pretty much the same thing, but on my own." Turning in her direction, I found that she was now standing over me for whatever reason. "Why?"

Instead of answering, Hestia-sama giggled and smirked, which suddenly made the fear that I had felt earlier feel a lot more justified. I had seen it far too many times before, all right before she'd start harassing Cranel.

"Good! Since you're free tomorrow…" Great, now why are you pointing at me now? "…it looks like you've got no other choice than to take me with you!"

I blinked at my kami-sama. Don't you have to go to work tomorrow?

…

As it turned out, Hestia-sama did have to go to work today. Unfortunately, however, that reality didn't get her to drop the idea at all. So, she asked me to come by her workplace around midday and we'd take care of everything then.

Of course, there was an attempt to convince her otherwise and while doing so, I thought I made some pretty sensible points in my favor, but for whatever reason, my kami-sama seemed very adamant in getting me to let her tag along. Eventually, through sheer force of will, she was able to wear me down and I relented.

A part of me thought about not showing up, but considering that I'd have to see her later again that night, I decided to learn from my past experiences with Hiratsuka-sensei and complied with my kami-sama's demands.

Besides, if I wanted to replace all of my equipment, I was going to need to come through Babel Tower no matter what, so it's not like it was really that much trouble anyways. Still, this was all making me question, when did Hestia-sama start working at a Hephaestus Weapons Store?

I pondered that for the exact amount of time that it took for the elevator door in front of me to slide open and then sent it to the back of my mind, all so I could step off and turn my focus onto my surroundings.

Immediately, I couldn't help but notice the surplus of window displays surrounding me, all of which displaying weapons, shields, and armor so pricey that I couldn't even afford to pay attention to them. However, the most curious detail to me about the displays was the fact that there wasn't a single door separating them, despite the abundance of glass.

Given what I knew about the goddess Hephaestus, which admittedly wasn't a lot outside her namesake, I always figured that she'd have sizable control on Orario's weapons trade, but having an entire floor of Babel dedicated to you? Even I didn't think that much was possible.

Turning to my right, I started following the directions Hestia-sama had given to me the night prior.

As I did so, another thing I couldn't help but notice was the amount of people wandering this floor, or more specifically, how starkly it contrasted the copious amounts of military opulence that first caught my attention.

To put it bluntly, the floor was almost completely barren of life. For what was effectively a high end retail store, that felt rather odd, but then again, considering the price of the product offered, that actually made a lot of sense.

Thirty million valis for a sword, eh? _Sheesh_. How does anyone even go about making that kind of money? Hopefully the prices upstairs are actually cheaper.

"Welcome~!" Accompanied by the sound of a door being swung open, an all too familiar voice came from my left, greeting me even though I hadn't actually walked into the store yet. "What can I do for you today, valued customer— Oh, Hachi-kun?"

Turning to face my kami-sama, I was immediately taken aback by the difference in her appearance. Her usual outfit consisted of a short, white dress that accentuated more than it covered up and a dubious blue ribbon that she used to support her Hestias, but today, those were replaced by a red and white get up somewhat reminiscent of a french maid outfit. Ironically enough, despite its description, it was somehow more conservative than how she usually dressed.

"Did I get here early or something?" My question made the twin-tailed goddess jump.

"Wait, is it midday already?" I nodded. "Ah, wait right there, I'll be right out in a second!"

With that, Hestia-sama disappeared back into the door that she so suddenly appeared from in the first place, leaving me to stand completely alone—

"—Does that say thirty million valis?!" Eh, another surprise Hestia familia appearance?

"Cranel?" For the second time in the past two minutes, I turned fully to face my newly arrived familia.

"Hachiman?" By the time I had my eyes on him, the albino was already looking my way.

"Hikigaya-san?" A few degrees off to Cranel's right and just out of vision, another new arrival made herself known.

For the sake of the gag, a part of me wanted to keep it going and say Tulle's name as well, but unfortunately, that would make no sense considering I already knew that they would be out with one another today. So, I just said the first thing that came to mind. "Yo."

Just like Hestia-sama before her, Tulle was also wearing something different to her usual attire, which I figured was going to happen, given the fact that what I usually saw her in was just the standard Guild uniform, but it still managed to throw me off.

All that being said, out of all the casual styles I expected out of my guild advisor, I never expected to see her wearing a skirt. Also, where are your glasses? Don't you need those to see? If not, why do you even have them then?!

"Alright, Hachi-kun, I'm ready to— Oh?" Behind me, I heard the big-boobed loli goddess enter the battlefield once more.

Figuring that she was going to become the focal point of the entire coming interaction, I turned to face her and took a step back so I was standing next to Cranel. Goddammit, how much longer is this bit going to go on for?

"Bell-kun?"

"Kami-sama?" After he asked that, Cranel looked up from our kami-sama and into the shop behind her. "What are you doing here— Oh, wait, this is where you got a job at?!"

"Y-Yeah, it is…." After she said that, my kami-sama locked eyes with Tulle and stared at her for a moment. The moment her blue eyes narrowed was the moment I braced myself for a battle and, for some reason, I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be fair at all. "Is this half-elf that advisor you were telling me about yesterday?!"

Oi, did you two forget that we're in public right now? I mean, I know that there aren't a lot of people around and thought all of that stuff about this being a battle, but could you at least stop yelling?

"Ah, y-yeah. Hestia-sama, I'd like you to meet—"

"—It is a pleasure to meet you, Hestia-sama." Suddenly switching on a much more formal tone, Tulle bowed and began to remind me of the half-elf that I was familiar with. "I am guildwoman Eina Tulle and I am indeed the labyrinth search advisor for both Bell Cranel and Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Oh, is that so?" From the look on my kami-sama's face and how she elongated that 'oh', I could tell that she was far from impressed. "Well, you lookie here, advisor-san…."

With that, Hestia-sama closed the distance between her and Tulle and motioned for the latter to lean down to her level. The half-elf complied and the goddess began to whisper something in her ear, which prompted me to glance over at my snow-haired familia, who shot me a wide-eyed stare.

Wait, do you still have no idea what's going on, Cranel?

"Um…" The sound of Tulle's voice forced my focus back to the main attraction, where my advisor had seen fit to put some distance between herself and Hestia-sama. A good idea. It would ensure her survival for a while longer. In fact, as if to further emphasize that she was no threat to the divine being, the half-elf even raised her hands up in a defensive position. "I like to keep business and pleasure separate."

I blinked at the exchange. Once again, the small goddess proved herself to be someone capable of punching above her weight class.

That being said, I was happy to see that the two had managed to settle things relatively quickly. Believe it or not, I had better things to do today than watch two women quibble over—

"—Anyways, if you don't mind!" Oi, just whose arm do you think you're grabbing all of a sudden?! "Hachi-kun and I have some very important business to attend to! Come on, Hachi-kun!"

"Ah, alright! I'll see you two later at home!" As I was swept away by the twin-tailed tide, Cranel called out to us. "Have fun you two!"

Wait, what are you talking about, Cranel? I'm not the one going on a date here!

…

"Hmph, that Bell-kun…." Hestia-sama grumbled that under her breath. With her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping against the floor of the elevator we were riding up on, as of right now, my kami-sama was the very epitome of a woman scorned. "Bringing that advisor girl to where I work…. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that he was trying to make me jealous or something."

"To be fair, Cranel would need to know you'd be jealous in the first place to accomplish something like that." The elevator started to slow as I said that. "And we both know that's just not something he's capable of."

"Yeah, I know." Coming to a full stop, the doors in front of us slid open. "But that doesn't make this any less irritating, you know?"

I didn't really, but I hummed back nonetheless.

Hestia-sama stepped off of the elevator, which prompted me to follow suit and when I did, I was almost immediately faced with a setting that was the complete opposite to the Hephaestus Weapons Shop on the fourth floor. Well, maybe not the complete opposite.

Just like the floor that we were just on, the first thing that caught my eye was the myriad of weapons, shields, and armor lining the narrow hallway. Unlike that floor, they weren't being kept behind glass panels and were, instead, presented in the open-air within their own separate stands, all of which being manned by their own merchant. The next big difference with this floor was its general atmosphere.

To put it bluntly, this floor was very loud.

The sound of hammers slamming against metal echoed faintly on the stone brick, almost completely drowning out the multitude of people sharing the space with us. With all of the talking that was going on, it was impossible to make sense of any of the individual conversations, but my eyes and context told me that they were probably talking about weapons in some capacity.

"So, Hachi-kun, you said that you needed to replace all of your equipment, right?" My kami-sama calling out to me pulled me away from my observations. Turning to face her, I found her staring at me expectantly. Having been caught off guard, it took me a moment to recover and nod, which prompted her to smile and me ask, "Where did you want to start?"

Hm, that was a good question. _Stop_. When everything needed replacing, where did I even begin?

…

Of course, the first thing that came to mind was weaponry. _Go_. I had a dagger and bow to replace, and while I was more than ready to graduate from both in terms of quality (both being cheap alternatives that I only really used because I didn't want to pay for anything better), I wasn't sure what I wanted to replace the prior with. Really, anything was better than a cheap, starter iron knife, but did I replace it with a better knife? A sword? Spear? The options were both limitless and crippling.

That being said, I did want to buy a ranged weapon to replace my bow, so might as well start there.

"Let's see if we can find some place that sells bows." Not knowing where to even begin, I glanced around me and found that none of the merchants in our immediate vicinity met that description. "Have you been up here at all? I know that you work downstairs and only started yesterday, but—"

"—Oh, I didn't start working there yesterday." Eh? What were you doing all of tomorrow then? Were you at your other job or something? "Anyways, I'm not really familiar with this place, so let's just walk around for a while and see what we can find."

Before I could reply, Hestia-sama started walking and since she had caught me off guard again, it took me a second to realize that I needed to follow. "Oi, don't you have to go back to work eventually?"

"Nope~! I told Hephaestus that one of my children got all of their equipment destroyed in a fight and that I wanted to be a responsible goddess and accompany them while they get it all replaced, and she pretty much caved right then and there." Hestia-sama smiled to herself smugly. Right then and there, I felt a permanent chill run over me. My kami-sama really was a terrifying being, huh? "So, don't you worry about time, Hachi-kun, we have plenty of it."

I let out a sigh. This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?

…

Being a proud self-identifying loner, I was loath to admit that the current situation I found myself in was far from a foriegn one. Unfortunately, due to a multitude of reasons, this was the umpteenth time I've found myself being dragged along on a shopping trip by a woman.

Other (lonelier) guys might see that as a good problem to have, citing that any interaction with the opposite gender was a good one (probably because they often had none). In contrast to those hormone-driven idiots, I knew better. My only function in almost every shopping trip I've been on was to serve as a sentient pack mule and thus, I loathed this kind of interaction to the pit of my being.

The first many were with my mother and Komachi, the reason for which being they were family (the only women who'd openly interact with me at the time) and being a kid, I didn't have a choice in the matter. What I was experiencing today was no different, save for a few key differences.

"Hey, how about we check out that store over there?" Although Hestia-sama had asked the question, she started walking towards the store without waiting for me to reply. Yep, outside of the specific details, nothing's really changed. "It has bows and stuff."

Fortunately, the stand that she pointed out did carry some of what I was looking for, so I couldn't be too irritated as I followed.

On all accounts, the stand that Hestia-sama chose was completely indistinguishable from the others around it, save for what it actually offered. A divet in the wall that had rather plain looking weapons hanging from wall-mounted hooks, but unlike the others around it, the selection consisted of six different sets of bows and arrows. The one outlier being a single crossbow, which was tossed into the mix at the foot of the stand itself.

"So, is there anything that catches your eye, Hachi-kun?"

Naturally, having had no formal exposure with weapons in the past, I had no idea how to actually differentiate one from the other in terms of quality. All I really had to go off was the prices being asked for them and unlike produce, I couldn't just default to the cheapest one and expect the same results. That being said, I still had a budget and a shopping list to adhere to, and while I could manipulate the latter to better fit my needs, the prior was far more strict.

Even for our relative inexperience, Cranel and I made decent money overall on our trips into the Dungeon. As of late, our average day took us to the fifth floor and beyond, which usually netted us around 3,000 valis overall/1,500 valis respectively. Every few trips, an item drop would cause a decent to significant increase in that.

Of course, a portion of that would have to be allotted into food, toiletries, and other such necessities of everyday life, but thankfully, the actual cost to live here in Orario's slums was less than five percent of those earnings. Also, thanks to my frugal spending habits, I was allowed a much larger spending range than other adventurers of a little less than a month's experience.

Specifically, I had 20,000 valis to work with, but considering all that I needed to replace, that really wasn't a lot at all.

"Hm…."

_Stop_.

The first weapon on the rack was a simple longbow. Pure white wood with no ornaments of any kind with a clean white string. It was as basic as basic got and its price reflected as much, being priced at 2,000 valis, which would definitely make my wallet happy and free up some of the budget to be allotted into other areas of my equipment. That being said, I couldn't help but wonder if it would really be an upgrade over a long branch and piece of twine.

The weapon right next to it seemed like a carbon copy of the first, save for the fact that it had fancy, laurel-like designs burned black into its surface. Unsurprisingly, it was priced at 2,500 valis. Yeah, not going to happen.

Next to the clear scam was yet another bow, this one being slightly shorter in length and had its tips curved forwards instead of being straight. Its body was tan and the tips were stained black. Its string was white just like the first two, but unlike them, it also had the same twine wrapped tightly around its middle section. I assumed that it was meant to be a handhold. All things pointed to it being of a higher quality - all things including its price, which sat a hefty 5,000 valis.

Now, before the Charging Wall, my bow was an important part of how I approached the Dungeon, but was it important enough to me to justify spending a quarter of my budget on one? I wasn't so sure. And again, I had no idea what I was doing, so I didn't even know if the upgrade would be at all significant.

I didn't dare pay any mind to the final three bows. From a glance alone, I could tell that they all cost more than the third one and if I wasn't really comfortable paying 5,000 valis, I knew my wallet couldn't take the abuse of thinking about going even higher.

So, in terms of bows, this stand gave me two viable options.

Fortunately, that still left me with the crossbow, which honestly caught my eye more than the bows did.

It was a perfectly alright looking weapon. Deep brown wood made up its body and the actual bow part was made of some sort of metal painted black. Seeing that the weapon looked brand new and without fault, I couldn't help but wonder why it was being sold for just 3,500 valis, but for the price I had to consider it.

Personally, the idea of having a crossbow was pretty tempting since it could theoretically free one of my hands up to shoot, although the fact that I would have to load shots would hinder my firing speed overall. Although, if I were to buy it, I would also no longer have to deal with keeping my bow drawn when aiming, which was a plus.

Hm….

_Go_.

"I'll take the crossbow."

"Woah, what's with the sudden answer?!"

Paying no mind to Hestia-sama's outburst, I stepped forwards and picked said weapon up off the ground to get a feel for its length and weight. I didn't know if it was due to my increased strength or not, but it was surprisingly good in hand. Light and manipulatable too. Yep, this could definitely work. Plus, I felt really cool holding it.

From what I could tell, it seemed like a pretty solid weapon, so why wasn't it on the rack like the others—?

"Oh, come on!" Before I could finish that thought, the sound of a man yelling close to me caught my attention. "You can't seriously think I'm gullible enough to believe something like that. You didn't even put the crossbow I gave you to sell on the rack, how are you supposed to sell it if you leave it on the ground like its trash?"

Huh, what a convenience.

Turning towards the yelling, I found two men in what was clearly a disagreement. One was a muscly, brown-haired man in a sleeveless tunic. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the other man, who had red hair and was wearing all black, save for a deep blue scarf that was tied tightly around his neck. Given the law of hair colors, I figured the latter would be more important in the long run.

The brown-haired man closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Crozzo, how many more times do I have to tell you…? You make good quality weapons, but I wouldn't have put that whatever you call it on the ground if I could actually sell it."

"But—"

"—I've dropped the price on that thing dramatically and I still haven't found a single person interested in buying it, and if I can't sell a product, then it might as well be trash." The muscly man opened his eyes as he continued. "Look, I know that it might sound like I'm being harsh, but I'm just trying to be honest—."

"—Oi, is this your store?" Seeing that I didn't have all day, I decided to interrupt the spat going on between seller and supplier.

The brown-haired man turned towards me the moment I said that, his brown eyes wide at the surprise. "Um, y-yeah, was there something you needed, sir?"

"I want to buy this crossbow off you." I gestured to it by raising it up to neck level. "You wanted 3,500 valis for it, right?"

"Wait, you actually want to buy that thing?" The man stared at me in shock. I could hear Crozzo sputtering to himself from just out of sight.

Humming in affirmation, I reached down into the pouch of valis I had tied to my left hip and pulled out enough valis to cover the cost, walking over to the man and holding them out to him when I did. "Here, 3,500 valis. Does that cover the bolts too or do I have to buy those separately?"

"'B-Bolts'? Oh, you mean the arrows? No, they're included…." Oh? Talk about a deal then. "Just give me a bit to go get them, I thought that I was never going to be able to sell that thing, so I have them stashed back at my supplies closet. Just keep your money until I get back."

I hummed again and I chose to not to watch the man as he walked off out of sight, grumbling to himself as he did so. Hmph, why are you getting mad at me? If you didn't want to sell the thing, then you shouldn't have left it out like you did.

"Well, would you look at that! 'Couldn't sell it', my ass!" Unsurprisingly, Crozzo made his feelings about the whole interaction known and he did so very loudly, which wasn't appreciated. "Thanks, man." Oi, just whose shoulder do you think you're touching?! Turning to glare at the man clasping my shoulder, I found that he was smiling at me widely and brightly. "You really saved my ass there."

"Hmph, it's not like I was trying to help you or anything." Being faced with such undue gratitude, I couldn't help but turn away. "I was going to buy the crossbow regardless, it just so happened that you were here to see it."

Crozzo let out a hearty laugh at that. He even threw his head back. Oi, what's so funny? "I guess I have to thank you for having a good eye for quality then!"

Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Now, could you please stop touching me?

In a move that made me recycle a joke that I've already used far too many times, Crozzo released his grip on my shoulder right as I thought that. "Anyways, I've got stuff to do so I gotta get a move on. Oh, and before I go, could I get your name?"

I narrowed my eyes at the man. "Why?"

"Hey, hey, now, there's no need to get all suspicious of me. Discerning customers such as yourself are pretty hard to come by nowadays, y'know? You're a rare breed and I can't just let someone like you be stolen away by some other smith, now can I?" Oh, so basically, you're just desperate for business then? Understood. "So, I wanted to offer you my services as your personal smith."

"'Personal smith'?" I raised my eyebrow at the term. "As in, you want to be the only smith I come to for equipment?"

"Yep, basically." The redhead nodded enthusiastically, not at all realizing the absurdity of what he was offering a literal stranger. "How about it?"

"What exactly is in it for me?" Of course, I couldn't just accept the offer being given to me outright. "Don't get me wrong. I may have wanted to buy this crossbow of yours, but I've never used one of your items before. How am I supposed to know if any of it is actually good?"

"Aha, I thought you'd say something like that!" Wait, why are you acting as though you've outsmarted me when you're literally giving me all the leverage? "That's why I'll even give you a discount on everything you buy from me."

I blinked and smirked at the offer. You really think that you're winning this negotiation, huh? Just how badly are you doing? "I need armor and a melee weapon. What can 16,500 valis get me?"

"16,500 valis, huh? Hm…." Crozzo brought his hand up and cupped his chin between his index finger and thumb. "That would depend on what you're looking for." Suddenly, he frowned. "Damn, I'd like to hash out the details with you more, but like I said, I got things that I need to take care of." The redheaded smith scratched at the back of his head as he let out a chuckle. "I don't wanna risk getting chewed out by Hephaestus-sama again."

Wait, did you just say 'Hephaestus'?

"Wait, did you just say 'Hephaestus'?" For the first time the entire conversation, Hestia-sama spoke up, which prompted me to turn towards her. Doing so allowed me to catch her staring at Crozzo with surprise, before she morphed it into a smile. "Ah, so does that mean you're one of Hephaestus's children, then?"

"Yep!" Being able to hear the pride pouring out of his voice, I didn't need to turn towards him to know that he was smiling. He might've even been pointing at himself with his thumb. "The name's Welf Crozzo, and what's your name little lady?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Crozzo-san." Hestia-sama showed off her god-given grace as she introduced herself. She somehow managed to sound like she was trying to make a good impression, while clearly not. "My name is Hestia."

"W-Wait, 'Hestia'?" Crozzo jumped back in shock and his face paled "As in _the_ Hestia? The goddess Hestia?"

"Yep!" For her part, Hestia didn't seem like she was phased at all by not being instantly recognized. Then again, she wasn't a very well known kami and she was out of her usual attire, so I suppose that this was bound to happen. "And this boy that you've been talking to is my child, Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Yo."

"W-Well, it was nice to meet you two, Hestia-sama, Hikigaya-san." Probably realizing his position, Crozzo bowed his head as he spoke. It reminded me of something Cranel would do whenever he did something embarrassing. Well, actually, Cranel would've been on the ground prostrated by now if he was in the smith's position. "Sorry for being so improper just then."

"No, no, don't worry about it." Eyes closed, my kami-sama waved off Crozzo's apology. Of course, I knew better than to believe the words coming out of her mouth. "Anyways, you were saying something about not wanting to be late?"

"Damn, you're right!" Crozzo shot straight up at the reminder, his focus landing on me as he did so. "Hikigaya, come to my workshop later if you can. I'll help you with your equipment problem there. Just head towards the colosseum and head north once you get halfway there." Oi, just where do you think you're—? "Once you start seeing my familia's workshops, just ask around for my workshop and they'll point it out to you."

Crozzo ran off before I could comment, leaving me to wonder, 'How in the world are you still desperate to sell your weapons when you're a Hephaestus smith?'

"Well, looks like that problem ended up solving itself, didn't it, Hachi-kun?"

"Yeah, I guess it did." I shrugged in response to Hestia-sama's pointing out of the obvious. It's not like I was going to complain, though. That just meant less wandering around for me. "Still, it looks like it's going to be a bit before we can head to his workshop, so what did you want to do in the mean—"

"—Oh, that actually works out then." Wait, what? "I had some stuff that I needed to take care of too. I wanted to have you there for them, but this way it'll be more of a surprise." I blinked and opened my mouth to ask my kami-sama what in the world she was talking about, but before I could, she pointed at me with a wide grin. "Alright, Hachi-kun, you take care of all that you need here and get what you need from Crozzo-san. Once you're done, meet me back home once you're done, understood?"

Um… no, not really?

I wanted to voice that opinion, but the twin-tailed goddess turned on a heel and started walking away before I could. Unfortunately, I couldn't chase after her due to the fact that I hadn't actually paid for the weapon in my hand.

Goddammit, is this how that princess from yesterday felt? No wonder she got so riled up. This is really annoying (lol).

…

If I had to describe Crozzo's workshop, I certainly wouldn't call it befitting a Hephaestus smith. Really, it was nothing more than a dingy wood shack and it wasn't even the good kind either. It was so run down that I could almost see the inside just from the holes that littered its walls.

To be honest, it felt like I was more likely to meet a crazy serial killer here than a skilled craftsman (which wasn't a possibility that I had entirely ruled out yet), but since all of the smiths I've asked pointed me here, I had to assume that this was the place. You're lucky that you're offering me a discount, Crozzo, because this is the farthest thing from a good first impression.

Walking up to the front door, I raised my fist to the wood and knocked on it three times. I waited a few moments for a sign of life inside, but let out a sigh when I got none. I guess that means Crozzo still isn't done with whatever business he's taking care of yet, which made sense since I was only waiting on that shopkeep to come back and that didn't take long at all. Still, that meant more waiting.

Luckily for me, there was a pile of bricks that was perfect for sitting next to the door and that's what I did. Now what do I think about to help pass the time? Hm….

Oh, right, the whole weapon situation. Almost forgot that I had to figure that out at some point, but what kind of weapon fit my fighting style the most?

For the most part, my close-quarters exchanges consisted of me spamming my skill, using it to look for vulnerabilities in my opponent, and killing them with as much efficiency as possible - efficiency in this context meaning as little movement possible. That probably meant that my best bet would be something with enough power to kill monsters in one. Unfortunately, that only narrowed my options by so much.

Realistically, almost every weapon in the universe could one-shot a lower level monster, because almost all of the monsters on the lower levels were incredibly weak. Hell, I've killed plenty with a single punch and kick before. The really important thing to consider were the monsters a tier above that - monsters like that Charging Wall.

Of course, being the realist I am, I had zero aspirations of getting a weapon that could kill a literal walking boulder in a single hit. That just wasn't going to happen with my current budget. Still, at the very, I could get myself something that could actually hurt a mid-level monster without snapping on impact.

Maybe something big and heavy like a greatsword or war ax? Something like that would certainly fulfill those qualities, but would that fit _me_?

It'd be big and bulky and harder to manipulate, meaning that I'd have to time my attacks in a completely different way than how I do now. In the long run, that probably wouldn't be too much of a hindrance, especially after I got used to it, but the thought still made me hesitant to go down that route.

So, that meant getting something lighter and faster, which to me, immediately ruled out all blunt weapons. Could I kill a monster in a single strike with a one-handed club? Sure, but could I kill two or three? Possibly, if I tried really hard, but I wasn't about to spend all that money on a possibility.

That pointed towards a sword of some sort, but one that had enough cutting power to kill multiple monsters. If I could draw it from its sheath really quickly too, that'd be a plus— Oh no, I basically just cornered myself into getting a katana, haven't I?

Growing up, I used to hold my homeland's signature weapon in high regard, just like how most red-blooded, Japanese boys did. However, that line of thinking stopped during my adolescent years, when I realized that much of the katana's reputation as the sword of all swords was built off the glorification of my culture and not any practical evidence. That, and years of oversaturation just made it less cool in my eyes, but that was beyond the point.

At the end of the day, a sword was a sword. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, and from all that I've seen, katanas were at the very least good at cutting. So, it made the sting of accidentally typecasting myself hurt a little less.

Then again, I was still working off of what Crozzo could offer me and having him craft a weapon for me would probably cause the price to skyrocket, so the katana was really just a template for what I was looking for. If he had anything else that fit the bill, that'd be perfectly fine—

"Oh, looks like you beat me out here, Hikigaya, and that you bought my crossbow." Hearing someone call my name pulled me from my thoughts. Following it to its source, I found the man who I was just thinking about. "I take that means you're accepting my offer?"

"Would I be here if I wasn't?" Throwing the absurdity of Crozzo's question back at him, I slipped myself off of the makeshift roost I had made myself.

In response to my purposeful crassness, the redheaded smith let out a laugh and grinned at me. Huh. Typically, when I do that to people, they get irritated at me or nervous. "Well, in that case, you ready to get down to business?"

I scoffed and smirked. "Yeah, let's."

…

By the time I had finished my business with Crozzo and deposited all of my gear back at the church, night was threatening to overtake Orario. On one side of the sky was the just risen Moon and on other sat the almost set Sun, a conflict that cast the city in a deep blue hue that was only accentuated by the small sliver of orange that still barely peaked over the Eastern horizon.

That battle even extended out to my immediate surroundings. All around me, people moved to activate the strategically placed light crystals posts that lined Orario's major streets, all in order to create small pockets of light to illuminate and eliminate the already forming shadows. Inside and outside, in my direct view and in my peripheral, they all did their best to fight would inevitably come.

Seeing that made that bitter taste return to my mouth as I followed Hestia-sama to wherever she planned on taking me.

Some might look at me and my social standing and assume that I had a hard time picking up on people's intentions, that years of social ineptness have led to me being completely and utterly unable to pick up on the tiny cues that always foreshadowed people's actions. How could anyone so disconnected from others do such a thing? The answer was simple: disconnected didn't mean that I wasn't still there.

Just like how one didn't need to play a sport to understand its subtleties, I watched others from the sidelines, day in and day out, hoping that it would one day solve my troubles. It didn't but that was beyond the point.

That point being, I knew exactly what Hestia-sama was trying to accomplish and frankly, I was conflicted on how to feel about it.

If this was a few months ago, I probably would've been repulsed by the very idea. Action borne out of obligation was something that I despised more than anything. 'They're just doing it to be nice, they're just doing it to feel better about themselves, they don't actually care about me,' etc. That's how I justified it to myself.

When I realized that Yuigahama was the owner of the dog I saved my first day of high school, I thought about how much I hated nice girls. How I loathed the idea of a girl being nice to me for the sake of niceties, because it would always get my hopes up. I wanted so desperately for it to mean that I was rare and special to someone that I completely failed to realize the commonality of such gestures.

And so, I hated nice girls, but moreover, I hated the superficial kindness being presented to me. If someone needed a reason to be nice to me, then I'd rather they left me alone for good. But then, Yuigahama Yui came tumbling clumsily into my life and I came to realize something, 'if I rejected all kindness under the belief that it couldn't have pretense, then what kindness would I actually accept?'

I didn't know then and I don't know now; nonetheless, I continued to drag myself forwards.

…

Admittedly, out of all of the places that I expected Hestia-sama to drag me to, the top of a belltower had never crossed my mind.

Climbing the last step, I stepped out onto the open chamber and looked around. Save for the staircase behind me, all that there was around me was open space, allowing me to get a view of Orario that I assumed very few people got to see.

Directly in front of me was Babel Tower and since it had taken us quite a while to get up here, night had long since fallen. The deep blue of night now covered the entire city, save for the tiny specks of orange created by the light crystals down at the tower's base and the small white dots that littered the sky around its upper half.

It was a beautiful sight to see, which made me wonder why I was here even more.

"Ah, finally, we're here!" Hearing my kami-sama's voice coming from behind me, I turned to face her, doing so just in time to see her trudge up the final few steps. The moment she did so, she slouched over and put her hands on her knees. A part of me couldn't help but smile a bit at the irony. I probably would've been in her exact same shoes if it wasn't for her blessing. "I thought those stairs were never going to end!"

"Well, you're the one who wanted to come up here, so it's your own fault."

Looking up towards me, she shot me a pout and a glare before straightening herself out. I couldn't help but smirk a little at that.

Letting out a huff, I could practically see the little tick mark on her head as she closed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest, and walked forwards and past me to the balcony's railing. She leaned out over it, placing her arms up on top of the stone as she did so. Not knowing what else to do, I followed her over.

I silently stared out at the city for a while, but eventually, I couldn't help but turn to my kami-sama and ask, "So, you mind telling me why you brought me up here?"

"Ugh, would it ever kill you to read the mood?"

I blinked at the question. "Um… Isn't that exactly what I did just then, though?"

The moment after I said that, Hestia-sama snorted and a smile replaced her frown. She opened her eyes, but kept her eyes focused onto what was in front of her. "Have you ever wondered why Gods come down from Heaven?"

The question gave me pause. Mainly because I didn't know why she was even bothering to ask it in the first place, but still, it made me wonder, 'why would divine beings come down from a place called Heaven?'

The first thought that crossed my mind would be the implication of the name. 'Heaven' in the most typical terms was supposed to be the most perfect place to ever exist, where divine beings resided and spent all of their time living a life us lowly mortals could only imagine.

However, that description almost immediately fell apart in a world like this one, where not only did the Gods walk amongst human beings, they did so willingly. That fact alone pointed towards something being wrong with the place and I had a feeling as to what it could be.

"Was it because all of you were bored?"

'Perfection' was one of those words that, despite having a literal definition, was almost exclusively thrown around in a subjective manner. What one described as 'perfect' might not fit someone else's description, and vice versa. And even if such a thing were possible, if that was the only thing someone could ever experience, then it was always in danger of becoming stale.

In my mind, that's why a place like the human world might be attractive to a God. Things here were almost exclusively not perfect all of the time. They weren't always bad, but they weren't always good either. Things were always changing and that might be a good reason why a God would leave a life of leisure and comfort.

Or, at the very least, it was an idea. Admittedly, I was just saying whatever first crossed my mind.

Hestia-sama snickered. "Well, I guess you're not entirely wrong when you say that. A lot of us do come down from Heaven just for that." Suddenly, she turned towards me and flashed me a smile. "If you think about it, I guess you can say that was my reason too."

"Really?" My eyes widened a little at that.

"Yeah, I know that it's kinda hard to believe, but a lot of us Gods are envious of humans." Her smile decreased in intensity as she returned her gaze back onto Orario. "You all get to do things that us Gods just can't, like have a family for example. Up in Heaven, we can form friendships and court one another all we want, but no matter what we do, we can't have children or a family."

I waited a moment, just to see if she was going to say anything more. When she didn't, I decided to ask the question that her explanation dragged up to the surface. "And is that why you were so insistent on coming shopping with me?"

Hestia-sama's eyes widened as her head snapped over to me. Then, it was my turn to face Orario without saying anything. Eventually, after another few moments, she chuckled. "I don't even know why I'm surprised that you were able to figure that out."

"It's not like you were being subtle about it." I breathed in and let out a sigh. I mean, even Cranel was able to realize that there was something bothering you. "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but I'm perfectly fine, alright? You don't need to go so far to try and make me feel better."

Once again, words stalled between the both of us. This time for so long that I started to wonder if I could get away with just walking away right now, but before I could seriously entertain the thought, Hestia-sama broke our impasse.

"You're such a bad liar, Hachiman." Her response made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Still, despite my reaction, I snorted at the question. "What makes you say that?"

"You always say things you don't mean." I didn't know when it had begun, but just then, I became acutely aware of how tightly I had been squeezing my hands into fists. "I can tell not just because you're my child, but because you have a hard time looking people in the eye after you say them."

I breathed in and then out deeply. "And just how long have you thought that?"

"From the very first time you've talked to me."

Hearing that made me purse my lips. I didn't know how to respond to that. I wracked my brain for something to say, but not a single solid retort came to mind.

_Stop_.

…

…

…

…Dammit.

_Go_.

"Hachiman, do you think I'm a bad kami-sama?" Having just deactivated my skill, the question caught my completely off guard so much that I jumped. My head snapped over to my kami-sama and I found that she was looking down towards the ground. "I wouldn't really blame you if you did. If I was in your shoes, I'd definitely feel the same after what happened the other day."

"Look, there's no need to—"

"—But now that I think about it, I think this is exactly what I wanted when I came down from Heaven." Huh? "I descended because I wanted a family. Not just a familia, but a real family and real families have to struggle through things like this…. They have to talk things out and work through their problems together, and all of those nice things, right? So, as my familia, would you please hear me out?"

Suddenly, she raised her head towards me and instead of finding the expression I expected to find, although I don't even really know what that would even be, I found her smiling.

"I'm in love with Bell. He accepted me when no one else would and because he's so kind, he'd give up his entire life for me just for that. I want to be able to give him just as much back. That's why I begged Hephaestus to make him a weapon for two straight days and put myself in hundreds of millions valis in debt. I want to be able to support him, not just as his kami-sama, but as something much more." As she spoke, her voice seemed to lose its foundation, as it got softer and softer in volume. If the world around us wasn't so silent, I probably wouldn't have heard her at all. "But by trying to do that, I completely neglected you and your needs, and even now, you'd probably sooner deny that fact than let me feel guilty about it."

Naturally, almost as if on cue, I opened my mouth to refute that fact, but I just as quickly shut it.

"You're such a kind boy, Hachiman. Or, at the very least, much kinder than you give yourself credit for." Suddenly, she turned her full body towards me and bowed her head. "I'm sorry for being such a selfish kami-sama. I know that you'll say that it's fine and that I don't need to worry about it, but please don't hesitate to hold me to a higher standard. I want to be the best kami-sama possible, not just for Bell—" A black blur raced upwards and suddenly, a pair of deep blue eyes were trained dead on me, transfixing me entirely. "—but for you as well. So, please, put your faith in me. I don't want you to feel as though you need to suffer through everything on your own anymore."

_Stop_.

If I could've taken a deep breath with time stopped, I would've taken one. I desperately needed a moment to digest what I just heard.

Contrary to what a lot of people believed, love and care were indeed finite resources.

If someone grew close to two other people, it was only natural that they would grow to like one more than they did the other. Someone always ended up getting the short end of the stick and as someone who's been on both the giving and receiving end before, I knew that better than most.

In the end, if the sole concern of both parties was to not hurt the other, they'd be doomed to stagnate.

That's why I couldn't bring myself to resent Hestia-sama for what was essentially blatant favoritism because, at the very least, she was ripping the proverbial band-aid off. All this conversation really amounted to was a simple stating of the reality that we both knew to be in front of us.

Hikigaya Hachiman would always be second to Bell Cranel in her eyes, both literally and figuratively.

All that being said, her favoritism really wasn't the problem here and most likely wasn't the reason she dragged me all the way up here. Despite our individual feelings about the situation, there was no way that it would've struck either one of us as a surprise. It was our differing perceptions of how to proceed past it that made everything so complicated.

Whereas I was alright with how things currently were, Hestia-sama wanted more. Not as much as she wanted with Cranel, but certainly more than what we had now and that was probably the driving factor behind what brought us here today.

Like she had alluded to earlier, there was a difference between being familia and being family, and she loathed herself for the fact that her actions could have contributed in making me prefer the latter to the point of keeping multiple near death experiences from her knowledge.

Of course, knowing exactly my reasons for doing so, I couldn't allow her to shoulder such blame on her own.

_Go_.

"Look, even if you say all that, it doesn't change the fact I'm still partially at fault here." This time, I made sure to maintain eye contact as I spoke. "If I had just told you the truth about what happened with the Charging Wall, then none of this would've happened."

Hestia-sama giggled at that.

"That may be true, but you only did so because you didn't want to be a burden, right?" I hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. "Then that just means we're in the same boat! So, how about this? I'll do my best to be a better kami-sama and you try to be more honest, and if we ever have any issues, we'll do our best to support one another through it. Just like a real family." Suddenly, she extended her hand out towards me. "Do we have a deal?"

I scoffed and smiled at the proposal. There was a finality to it that I found funny or, at the very least, ironic. Just because she had said all of that didn't mean anything. They were just words and words meant nothing in the grand scheme of things really. Sure, they did have their own intrinsic value, but if they weren't backed by some sort of action, that value was gone.

Acknowledging the problem was good and all, but reversion back to the status quo was still very possible. Thanks to what happened back a few months ago, I knew that it could very well happen now, but….

I took her hand and shook it. "Deal."

At the very least, it was a good place to start.

…

Ideally, things would've ended there and we would've gone home after that (hell, we even started to make our way back towards the stairs), but as it turned out, my kami-sama wasn't quite finished with me just yet.

"Oh, wait, one more thing." Eh? Are you serious? After all of that sappy melodrama, you're still not done? Truly, I've chosen to align myself with a cruel and irrefutable kami-sama. "I almost forgot to give you your surprise."

Having run to a back corner of the balcony we were on, I watched Hestia-sama pick some sort of purple square up off the ground before returning to me. She was holding two items in her hands: a plain purple kimono in her left and some sort of light pink fabric in her right. Both were folded into neat little squares - the light pink one being the smaller of the two.

"Here, take this one first." Holding the kimono out to me, I obliged and took it from her. Gripping it by its shoulders, I held it out in front of me and allowed gravity to unfold it for me. Yep, definitely a kimono. Actually, wait, now that I think about it, haven't I seen a kimono like this before—? "I got it from Takemikazuchi."

Looking back up at my kami-sama, I raised a brow at her. "'Takemikazuchi', huh?"

"Yeah, you know how I said that I didn't go to work yesterday?" With her eyes closed and her hand scratching at the back of her head, she chuckled to herself sheepishly. "I was actually going around town and getting all of this together. I went to Take-kun and asked if he had anything he could spare you, and he practically shoved this into my hand. He said something about wanting to give one of his fellow countrymen a piece of home."

I blinked at my kami-sama. "Yeah, that sounds like him."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Try it on!"

Seeing no reason to not put it on, I slipped the kimono on over the black long-sleeve I had borrowed from Cranel, but since I didn't have anything to tie it closed with, I just left it hanging open. I couldn't see what I looked like, but I felt much cooler already.

Almost as if she were reading my mind, the twin-tailed kami in front of me clapped her hands together once. "And, well, would you look at that? My Hachi-kun is already looking much cooler!"

Suddenly, I felt as though I was back in those clothing stores with my mother.

"Alright, now try this one!" I expected to do as she did earlier and extend the other item she was holding out towards me, but instead, she just unfolded it herself, revealing it to be a very long, very soft-looking scarf. "Tada~! I got this one for you myself. It's going to be getting cold soon, so I thought that it might be useful for you. Well, actually, it might be more accurate to say that Ganesha got you it."

"Wait, 'Ganesha'?" This time, my repeating a name in the form of a question was borne from actual confusion. "Why would he get me a scarf?"

"Oh, well, it's not like he actually picked the scarf out and gave it to me." Chuckling to herself sheepishly, I had the sudden feeling that my kami-sama did something genuinely scary again. "I maybe sorta told him that you got all of your equipment destroyed by one of the monsters his familia brought up to the surface, and forced him to give me enough valis to properly compensate all that was lost."

Oh, wow. Looks like I was right. I know that this is probably coming a bit too late, but you have my condolences, Ganesha-sama. You may have almost indirectly gotten me killed, but even then, you didn't deserve to have something like that happen to you.

"Wait, you got Ganesha-sama to compensate me for _my_ lost equipment and you spent all the money on a scarf?"

"Pft, of course not." Waving a hand at me, my kami-sama smiled at me mischievously. "What do you take me for, Hachi-kun? An amateur? I made up a much higher number and used some of _that_ money to buy you a scarf."

Oh, thank all the kami for that. You came that close to undoing all of the progress we just made tonight. "Oh, really? Good job then."

"Hehe, Hachi-kun praised me…." I rolled my eyes at that. "Anyways, do you mind getting down on your knees for a second? I want to put this on for you."

My brows immediately furrowed at the demand. "What, why? I know how to put on a scarf."

"Aw, c'mon! Just humor me this once, would you?"

Being faced with the strongest of her glares, I let out a sigh. "Just make it quick, would you?"

Lowering myself to my knees, I watched Hestia-sama walk behind me and after a moment, I felt something light and airy touch the back of my neck. I waited for it to wrap around fully, but instead, what wrapped around me was something warm and fleshy. It took a moment for me to realize that I was being hugged.

"Hey, Hachi-kun, do you know what makes you special to me?" I could feel the warmth of Hestia-sama's voice as she whispered into my ear. "Bell might've been the first person to accept my offer, but you're the first person to come to me."

Naturally, hearing that made me want to pull away from my kami-sama, but in the end, her hold on me was too tight. So, with nothing else to do, I smiled and resigned myself to my fate.

…

**Chapter End.**

**A/N:** Hey, so here's the second part that I promised you and I have an answer for the whole SpaceBattles thing.

Am gonna start posting there. I'll post the first chapter there Wednesday and post all of the following chapters the following Sunday and Wednesday and so on, as per your advice to space updates out. Thanks for all your feedback, by the way! It was much appreciated.

Anyways, see y'all in a month or two where we can get back to the plot. Gonna be some juicy shit. Trust me.


	6. Chapter 3: Hikigaya Can't Help Helping

**My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy than I Expected, Chapter 3. | Unfortunately, Hikigaya Hachiman Can't Help Helping.**

…

"Going for a new look, Cranel?" Stepping off the final step of our home's stairs, I couldn't help but make note of the difference in my familia's apparel.

Really, the only difference was that he wasn't wearing his coat anymore. That and the amount of armor he had on had increased exponentially. He went from the single iron chestplate that the Guild had provided us to a chestplate that extended up to protect his neck, a pair of mismatched wrist bracers, and a full set of shoulder, elbow, and knee pads.

From where I stood, I couldn't tell what type of metal they were supposed to be made of, but almost all of the pieces were as white as his hair and random red lines etched into them - all save for the bracer he had on his left wrist, which was a deep emerald green. Color scheme wise, it completely clashed with the rest of the outfit, so I couldn't help but wonder what possessed him to buy it. Oh, wait, I knew exactly what the reason was.

Letting out a quiet shriek, my snow-haired familia ripped his head away from the mirror in our storage closet to face me. Oh, so that's what you were doing~? Well, I'd be lying if I said that I couldn't relate with you at all. "Ah, Hachiman, you're back already?!"

"'Already'?" Not quite understanding the shock, I raised a brow at the question. "Cranel, you do know that it's the middle of the night, right?"

"R-Really?" Wait, what do you mean 'r-really'? Just how long have you been posing in the mirror for?! "Aha, I guess I must've lost track of time or something…."

Sensing an easy target, my brain instinctively went into overdrive. If my time in school has taught me anything, it's that when someone did embarrassing things, they had to be mocked and ridiculed. My apologies, Cranel, but there can be no exceptions—

"Ah, home sweet home~!" Oh, yeah, Hestia-sama was right behind me. Well, it was a good thing that I didn't actually fall victim to my baser instincts because that would've ended up like every time I brought up Hiratsuka-sensei's nonexistent love prospects - not well for me. "Bell-kun, are you in here? Hachi-kun and I are back from shopping!"

"Oh, I'm here, kami-sama!" Unsurprisingly, my familia's entire expression brightened up at the sound of our kami-sama's voice. "Welcome back—!" My confusion spiked when the albino suddenly cut himself off and turned back to me. "Oh, are you going for a new look too, Hachiman?"

…It seriously took you that long to notice?

"Ah, I see you've noticed the changes." Coming from much closer behind me, I turned my head to look over my shoulder and I found that Hestia-sama had already descended the stairs with the smuggest of looks on her face. She raised her hand up towards me, almost as if I were some sort of pet stuffed in some costume for the sake of being put on Twitter. "Well, what do you think of the new and improved Hachi-kun, Bell-kun? I got him all the clothes myself."

Instead of an answer, all my kami-sama got in return was complete silence. Oi, you both know that you're making things more awkward by not saying anything, right?

"Oh, um, it's very…" The desire to sigh filled me when I saw my familia open his mouth to answer, despite clearly not wanting to. For whatever reason, I had the distinct feeling that it was going to get really loud in here really quickly. "…colorful?"

"Wait, you don't like it?!"

"I never said that I didn't like it!"

My prediction coming to fruition, I let out a sigh and began making my way over to our storage closet. Silly, Cranel. Don't you know saying that's not going to get you any further out of hot water?

"But you might as well have said that! Since when is 'colorful' a compliment?" Putting my new crossbow down next to the closet door, I slipped my backpack off my shoulders, placed it on the ground, and opened it up. "W-well, what about it do you not like, Bell-kun?"

Pulling out the bundle of bolts I had gotten from that weapons vendor, I put them down onto the shelf next to my old quiver. Hm… Should I go ahead and put them in there now? Eh, whatever, I can just do that tomorrow morning.

"Um…?" Reaching up, I began to unwind the scarf around my neck. "The colors, I guess? I just don't know if they really fit."

"Wait, what do you mean the colors don't fit?" Stretching it out flat, I began to fold it up. "I thought that they'd work really well to contrast his general dark, gloomy attitude."

One half fold, two half folds, three half folds. There we go. All folded up. "Well, I-I mean, don't you think that's part of his appeal, though?"

The response left Hestia-sama speechless. On that note, where should I put my scarf? My first thought would be up on my scarf next to all of my other equipment, but we also use the closet to hold all of other stuff, so there was a chance it could get dirty by accident. But then again, where else would I put it? Maybe up on one of the higher shelves then?

"Hm, maybe you're right…." Whelp, up you go, scarf. "Hachi-kun, what do you think? You like your new clothes, right?"

Less experienced men might've been caught off guard by suddenly being dragged into an ongoing conversation like that, but unlike those men, I've spent months as a member of the Service Club, where pretty much every conversation involving me ended up like that. Wait, that happened back at home too…. Okay, scratch that, every conversation involving me ended that way. Either way, the point is that I knew exactly how to answer that.

Turning my head to face Hestia-sama, I found that the tiny goddess was looking at me with a pair of big, blue, puppy-dog eyes. This really means a lot to you, huh? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you're not going to get the answer you're looking for just because you're looking at me like that.

To emphasize this thought, I shrugged. "They're fine."

There might have once been a Hikigaya Hachiman who cared about what he looked like and the clothes he wore, but he's been dead and buried for a long time now.

At the end of the day, clothes were just things you put on at the start of the day and then took off once they were no longer needed. In terms of tangible value, they only had as much as one was willing to put on them and since that was more often than not influenced by the opinion of others; outside of their main purpose, that made clothes essentially worthless to me.

As long as it fit, I would wear it and that's always been the extent of my thought process. Bonus points if they were cheap too.

"See, Bell-kun? Hachi-kun likes his new clothes." A smug smile split my kami-sama's face as she planted her hands on her hips. Eh, what are you talking about, woman? That's not what I said at all.

Cranel just let out a strained chuckle behind me.

Eh, whatever. I had more important things to talk about anyways.

"By the way, Cranel." Turning towards Cranel, I began informing my familia of my plans. "I'm going to be leaving an hour or two earlier than usual tomorrow morning, so feel free to head to Babel at the usual time."

"Oh, does that mean you want me to go into Dungeon by myself again?"

"Oi, weren't you just listening to me? Why do you think I'm going to be leaving so early?"

"G-Got it!" As per usual, my familia was quick to shrink at the slightest bit of provocation, but unlike usual, he actually decided to follow it up with something. "Oh and if you don't mind me asking, why do you have to leave so early tomorrow?"

"Oh, don't worry." I smirked at my own vagary. Heh, so unnecessary. "You'll find out once I meet you at Babel."

…

Sincerely, I disliked having to get up early. Not to imply that I liked getting up at any time - the baseline of my hatred was spread out pretty evenly in that regard - but earlier than usual was definitely the worst.

Back in my old world, the standard starting time for all schools was eight in the morning; from elementary to middle school, that's how it's always been. In high school, I started an hour or so later. So, one might expect that after having years to adjust, my body would be used to waking up around that time, right?

Wrong. If my little sister wasn't the sweetest person in the world and didn't wake me up every morning, I'd surely miss all of homeroom and most of first period every single day. If not as a victim of my own sleep schedule, but by choice. Death was an acceptable alternative to consciousness and there wasn't a soul who could convince me otherwise.

Unfortunately, however, this mantra was far from a catch all as there indeed exist some situations that could drive me out of my domain long before I was ready, and today just so happened to be one of those situations.

"Oi, Crozzo, you in there?" Knocking on the door of my newly appointed personal smith, I got my answer almost immediately in the form of the sound of metal bouncing off metal. Steady and rhythmic, I knew exactly what had caused it. Of course, I had heard it before I had walked up to the door, but my parents didn't raise someone who barged into places without some form of warning. Sighing, I put my palm up against the battered door. "I'm going to let myself in, okay!"

Knowing that I probably wouldn't be getting a response, I pushed the door open and was unsurprised to find that not much had changed from when I left yesterday. Crozzo was still sitting by his forge and anvil, metal chisel in his left hand and hammer in the other.

Placing the prior down on the table of tools next to him, the blacksmith used his now free hand to pick the curved piece of metal up off the anvil and raised it to about eye level as he looked it over, forcing my attention onto the bags under his eyes, which most definitely hadn't been there the day before.

Have you slept at all since I left, Crozzo?

Having asked that question in my head, I got no answer back, which was probably for the best. I didn't know if he was finished working or not and knowing that blacksmithing involved working with molten hot metal, I decided it best to refrain from making my presence known for the time being. He clearly didn't know that I was here and a surprise might make him drop and damage my armor— I mean, hurt himself. Yep, wouldn't want him to hurt himself. Not at all.

Stepping inside and closing the door behind me, I waited for the blacksmith to show any indication of completion, which he did when his face suddenly went from scrutinizing to a wide, toothy grin. "Phew, finally finished!"

Oh, so you are done? Well, talk about convenient. At this rate, I might actually make it to Babel on time.

Knowing that I would be able to do so without incident, I began making my way over to the blacksmith, who raised his hammer hand and used his wrist to wipe some sweat off his cheek as I did so. Twisting himself in his seat, he turned to face the open window that sat behind his workstation, incidentally doing so to his left, which brought me right into his line of sight.

I didn't know if it was because of sleep deprivation or whatever, but it took him several moments of blank staring to process that I was standing right in front of him, which was signalled to me when he jumped up off his stool in fright. "Oh, crap, Hikigaya!"

"Yes, yes, I'm Hikigaya." Deadpanning my response, I came to a stop right in front of the shocked smith. "So, you all finished with my order, Crozzo?"

"Hold up, don't just change topics like that as if it's normal!" As if to emphasize whatever emotion he was feeling, probably shock and a bit of anger, Crozzo began pointing at me. Oh my, what boorish behavior. Did your mother not teach you better? "When'd you even get here?"

"Just now. I knocked and you didn't notice, so I let myself in."

"Well, couldn't you have said something once you walked in?"

"You were still working on when I did." I shrugged as I told him the truth. "I didn't want to interrupt since I figured there was a chance you'd react like this, but with the added possibility of messing something up."

"Hm… Fair enough, but next time just say something." If begrudging had a physical form, it'd be oozing off the Hephaestus smith right now. A small part of me felt like lobbing a half-assed apology his way as recompense, but his entire visage brightened before I could do so. "Only a newbie smith screws something up because they're caught off guard." He raised his left hand and pointed at himself with his thumb as a grin cracked his features. Um… You do know that you're still holding that piece of metal, right? I can't even really see your thumb. "Me, on the other hand? I've been doing this for years, so no need to worry about me!"

"Whatever you say, Crozzo." I didn't know whether or not to be encouraged by his show of confidence, but to move on to more pressing matters, I decided to take his word for it. "So, about my order?"

"Oh, right!" The red-headed smith's attention shifted towards the workbench next to his forge, which had gotten a lot more cluttered since I last saw it. Various tools were strewn all over its surface, but right in the middle of it, laid side by side in a much more orderly fashion, were the four of five of the items that made up my order. "Well, unannounced as it may be, you dropped in at just the right time. It took me all night, but I just got the last of it done right now."

"Really?" Ignoring the jab, I made my way over to the table. "Well, thank you for all your effort then."

"Ah, don't mention it." Crozzo's smile grew wider as he brushed off my gratitude. "It's not like this is the first time I've had to pull an all-nighter to fulfill an order."

Deciding to honor his request, I returned my full attention to what I had come here for. Like I had said, five items made up my order - four of which were sitting right in front of me and the fifth was in Crozzo's hand. Out of the five, four consisted of pieces of armor; a pair of pauldrons, a pair of knee guards, a pair of wrist bracers, and a chestplate. They all basically shared the same description; rounded, grey as the steel they were forged from, and unremarkable as armor could get (as per request).

The first four pieces were all on the workbench in front of me, but being a red-blooded teenager, my mind immediately fixated on the black sheath that was laid out horizontally right behind them. The general shape being immediately recognizable by any Japanese person - hell, I could probably even say the same for pretty much every person in the entire world at this point - I let out a sigh.

Having no actual idea as to what I was doing when it came to the practical application of swords, I told Crozzo what kind of weapon I wanted and gave him free reign on what to make me as long it fit those parameters. Clearly, that was a mistake because he made me the one kind of weapon I'd rather he not make me. Sure, I may have come to the same conclusion yesterday, but I did that incredibly begrudgingly! Besides, the hakama Hestia had gotten me was already skimming the line of turning me into a complete caricature, but now add a katana into the mix? I don't know whether to be annoyed or offended.

"So you went with a katana?" Reaching out for the sheath with my free left hand, I picked it up off the workbench and turned back to its creator. "You couldn't have picked something a little less stereotypical?"

"Eh, 'stereotypical'? What does that mean?" Eh, wait, what do you mean 'what does that mean'? Is that not a concept in this world yet?

…Well, whatever. Like I said yesterday, a sword is a sword. If it kills monsters like how I want it to then I have no real right to complain. "Don't worry about it."

Turning my attention back to the weapon in my hand, I _stop_ped time and gave it a more thorough once over.

In terms of what it looked like in its sheath, it pretty much resembled every other katana I've ever seen in my life, save for the fact its curve extended all the way down to its hilt, which told me that Crozzo was going for something along the lines of a tachi in terms of style.

Guessing its length, from tip to tip, it seemed to be a little shorter than the length of my leg - at least two-thirds of that being made up by the wooden sheath, which was painted black and lacquered to a semi-glossy sheen. Its hilt shared a very similar description, being made out of some sort of white wood artificially made darker by the black cord wound tightly around it in the typical criss-cross style, forming not-so uniform diamonds all the way down to its buttcap. On that note, it and the guard were the only unorthodox parts of the blade as they were made out of steel or some other kind of silver metal.

Either way, nothing extraordinary so far. Let's see what's inside.

_Go_.

Setting the crossbow in my right hand down onto the workbench, I turned away from the bench and Crozzo and made my way to the center of the room. Alright, if I remember my research correctly, there's a certain way I have to do this….

Holding the weapon out in front of me horizontally at about chest level, I put my thumb onto the guard and pushed on it so that a sliver of the blade was out. Using my right hand to grip the handle, I pushed the hilt into the sword and pulled it free, revealing a sight that I couldn't help but admire.

Again, the blade wasn't something I haven't seen before, but there was something about its silver-grey form that made me smile. Shit, my heart was starting to beat a little faster too. Go away, childhood glee! You're making me break character!

"Well, can we call love at first sight or what?" Hearing myself being made fun of, I turned towards the redheaded smith and glared my hardest glare. Unfortunately, all that did was make him chuckle. Oi, can't you see that I'm having a moment here? "Okay, okay, but seriously, I can't have you staring at a sword all day. So, what do you think?"

Pointing the tip of the sword out towards in front of me, I looked down its spine just to confirm that it was perfectly straight and also because I thought it would make me look cool. Admittedly, my reasoning was mostly the latter. "Well, you're asking me before I've even put it to use, but from what I can tell, everything seems to be in order." Returning the weapon to its sheath, I turned back to Crozzo. "So, what do I owe you for all this?"

The question got the blacksmith to drop the smile he had on, having him replace it with a downward-facing gaze and crossed arms over his chest. "Hm, you said that you only had 16,500 valis to spend on equipment, right?" Not knowing why he was bothering to repeat information that we both clearly already knew, I nodded, which made him smile again for whatever reason. "Well, looks like you owe me 16,500 valis then."

I shrugged at that. "Alright, if you say so."

Not having been born yesterday or being named Cranel, I knew what the blacksmith was doing. Surely, given the quality of all the equipment I was getting from him, he could've justified asking for more than that even with the discounts he had offered me yesterday, but because he either wanted me to stay his client or just showing he didn't actually care about money, he chose not to.

Not that I minded at all. I wasn't one to take advantage of— I mean, turn down someone's generosity.

…

If there was one thing I've learned about Bell Cranel in the month that I've known him, it was that he was a magnet for trouble.

I could've easily blamed it on him being the main protagonist of this series and left it at that, but seeing as I've already endeavored to keep myself from seeing this world and its inhabitants as characters from some sort of preplanned story, I had to think outside the box.

Could it be possible that he just lived a much more charmed life than everyone else? That through a combination of coincidence, happenstance, and bad luck; he just so happened to have more going on in his life than others. Of course, being a man of logic and sense, I found such an explanation to be inherently bullshit and hand-wavy, but it still had to be considered. Luck, both good and bad, could only go so far, after all.

The more appealing answer to me would be that someone behind the scenes was pulling strings and making it so that these things were happening to him for some nefarious plot, which on the surface, sounds more insane and illogical than the luck explanation, but all of the pieces I've collected so far pointed towards that conclusion. So, in short, I was inclined to believe that it made more sense than any onlookers might give it credit for.

That being said, such a logical and well thought out explanation couldn't explain Cranel's strange propensity for attracting women as well.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. "Again, Cranel?"

"Aw, come on!" Oh? So, instead of chuckling to yourself sheepishly, you're actually going to argue for your point this time? Well, that's certainly new. Dumb, but new. "You have to admit that it's not a _bad_ idea!"

I let out another sigh. I mean, that's not actually the problem here, Cranel, but I guess you have a point - that point being the Chienthrope standing before me, who I immediately recognized as the hooded supporter I saw following that nothing side antagonist from a few days ago. Or, at the very least, there were two extremely short supporters wearing the same hooded white cloak and comically oversized backpack running around Orario.

"Hello there, you must be the party member Bell-sama told me about. Hachiman, was it?" The short supporter extended her small gloved hand out to me as she spoke. "My name is Liliruca Arde and as Bell-sama has already explained, I'm a supporter. It's nice to meet you!"

I blinked at the hand being offered to me. Wow, do you actually think I'm stupid enough to fall for that cheery, helpful attitude of yours? You're so clearly faking it, you're making Isshiki seem subtle in comparison. Well, whatever. As of right now, I have no proof that you're trying to take advantage of the inexperience of some newbie adventurers, so I'll play along for now.

Taking the Chienthrope's hand, I shook it. "Yo."

My distrust of her must've shown because she let out a chuckle as she released my hand. "Not very talkative, are you?"

I really didn't want to humor her by replying, so I remained silent and waited for things to get awkward enough that Cranel answered for me instead. "Aha, don't mind him. He's like this with everyone he meets."

"Oh, well, that's, uh, reassuring?"

"So, Hachiman, how about it? Having her join us in the Dungeon for the day wouldn't be so bad, right?" Turning towards my familia, I found him staring at me with a strange look on his face. For something like this, I would've expected him to be more excited, but right now, he seemed rather conflicted? Wait, if that's the case, why are you even entertaining the offer? You should just tell her 'no'— "Plus, think about how many more valis we could make if we could just focus on killing monsters."

Yep, there was definitely something wrong here. If Cranel of all people was approaching the arrangement tentatively, then that had to be the case. Now, I just needed to figure out what she was after to begin with.

The obvious answer was the ludicrously-priced, Hephaestus brand knife on my familia's hip, but unfortunately that brought more questions to mind than it answered. Like, how did she even gauge its value when it was still in its sheath? That would have to mean that she got a look at it while it was out, which really could've meant a lot of things, but none of that mattered in the long run.

All that really mattered was what I was going to do about it.

Letting out a sigh, I did my best to sound exasperated. "If it's only for today, I don't see a problem with having her come along."

"Really?!" I turned towards Arde, who was looking up at me with her brown eyes wide and full of surprise. I didn't know if it was the ears, but all of a sudden, I was starting to feel like I've done this song and dance before. "Well, I promise that I'll do my best to live up to your expectations, then, Hachiman-sama!"

Upon turning towards Cranel, I found uncertainty in his crimson eyes as he met my gaze. Good. That just means that I won't have to explain anything later.

Wordlessly, I nudged my head towards Babel Tower. "Come on, we should get going. The more time we waste here, the less money we have at the end of the day."

"Ah, r-right!" As if I kicked him in the shin, the boy jumped at the sudden command.

"A very practical way of thinking!" Yeah, yeah, whatever. "Oh, by the way, how should we handle things while we're inside the dungeon? While I may just be a supporter, I do have a few ways to help you in combat if you so need it."

"Cranel and I have a system, but don't worry, we'll explain it to you once we get there." Turning myself towards Babel, I started the trek towards it. "Now, come on."

"Got it!/U-Understood!" And from the sounds of it, my two party members followed suit.

The best way to counter a trap was to walk into it knowingly and so, that's why I used my thumb to pop my katana out from its hilt ever so slightly, making sure that only a sliver of steel was visible.

_Stop_. Yep, smiling. _Go_.

Hmph, figures.

…

Hiding information from someone was a difficult thing to do, especially if that person was hiding things from you as well.

If they had any amount of intelligence, they'd spend every moment in your presence being wary of being found out, so any logical inconsistency was liable to blow the whole thing. For example, say that you didn't want the suspicious supporter you hired for the day to know how you and your familia operated in the Dungeon. The best way to keep that hidden wasn't to try and hide it in its entirety, but rather, it was best to be honest with some parts and to obfuscate its others.

That's why, even though I was hundred percent sure our new party member was trying to dupe us in some way or another, I still had Cranel be the bait.

"Hachiman!" Although, the trap that he was leading the monsters into was a bit different from usual. "Four Killer Ants! One right behind me!"

Typically, a day in the Dungeon for Cranel and I was spent looking for and finding choke points in the Dungeon's layout, such as a narrow hallway leading to a large open room or a stone bridge spanning over a gorge, etc. We would then use the lack of room that those locations provided to make killing large sums of monsters much easier than it typically would for adventurers of our experience.

Of course, since we were always trying to get to the floor below us, we wouldn't linger in them for too long. Instead, we followed a route that would take us through our best spots, so if someone were to find out what some of them were, they could use them against us.

To prevent that, instead of waiting behind a corner of one of our favored choke points, I was standing in the middle of a clearing of one of our least favored spots, as it was a bit out of the way of our usual route down to the Seventh Floor.

"Um… Are you sure that this is going to work?" Behind me, Arde chimed in with a clear apprehension in her voice.

"Yep." Drawing my crossbow's string back, I notched an arrow and raised it with my one free arm, aiming it at the opening Cranel was going to be shooting out of any second now. "You remember the plan?"

I heard the supporter hum in affirmation. "Only follow when both you and Bell-sama are in the hallway. Oh, and pick up any equipment you drop, right?"

Not looking her way, I nodded and right then, Cranel came exploding out of the hallway.

_Stop_. A pair of red glints were coming from the darkness about heel level to his right. Doesn't seem close enough to have to target specifically with bolt, which was good since it dramatically lessened the possibility of friendly fire. Aim a little above one of the red glints, preferably the one farthest away from Cranel, and fire. _Go_.

Using my whole hand to squeeze the firing mechanism, the bolt was let loose and soared right by my familia and into the dark, hitting what I assumed was the Killer Ant with a loud squelch.

Releasing my hold of the crossbow as the recoil brought it up towards my head, I dragged the soles of my boots against the dirt and dropped down into a ready stance that I was stealing from a video game. I used my thumb to pop my katana from its hilt, waiting for Cranel to run past me before exploding forward myself.

Running right into the hallway, three sets of red glints revealed themselves to me at different intervals of brightness. _Stop_. The brightest and closest was on the ground to my left; second was to my right at about eye level and was almost just as bright as the first; and the third was at the same height and direct as the second, but seemed duller than the rest. Probably a bit further back. Best bet would be to try and slash at the first at an angle that would kill the second, and then follow through with the third. It was a good thing that I was stuck holding my katana with my left hand, because it made getting that angle much easier. _Go_.

Getting so close to the first Killer Ant that I was essentially past it, I pulled my hilt so that it was almost fully behind my back, planted my feet, gripped my blade's handle, and slashed diagonally. Hearing two crunches and shrill indications of death, I spun with the momentum of my first attack, bringing my weapon over my shoulder, and slashed at the final Killer Ant.

Hearing it die, I flicked the weapon off my blade and returned it to its sheath, making sure to do so slowly. I couldn't help but smirk a bit after. Heh, I must've looked really cool there—

Before I could finish admiring my ability to steal cool poses from video games, the sound of stone cracking coming from behind me caught my attention. That being said, I didn't bother turning around since I knew Cranel would be on his way.

A loud and audible crunch told me that I didn't make a mistake.

"Wow, that was really impressive, you two!" Soft clapping accompanied Arde's praises.

"Hehe, t-thanks." Oi, watch that tone, Cranel. Otherwise, I'm going to start assuming that the only reason you agreed to pick her up as our supporter was that she's cute. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was, but my opinion of you would still plummet. "I have to give you a lot of credit. With you here, I feel like I can just go all out on killing monsters. How about you, Hachiman?"

Despite the circumstances, I couldn't really disagree with Cranel's opinion. Not having to deal with all of the tedium dungeon crawling entailed was a nice change. It's too bad our supporter was so obviously a lying crook. "Yeah, can't say I disagree."

"Oh no, the way you two have been killing monsters has been much more impressive than anything I've been doing. It seems like you two haven't even broken a sweat yet." The fake humility made me narrow my eyes. It's a good thing that I wasn't facing them. "Although, with the level of equipment you two have, I guess I really shouldn't be all too surprised. Seems like you two have been adventuring for years."

"Oh no, Hachiman and I have really only been adventurers for a month or so."

"Really? Then where did you get a knife like that? It seems really powerful." Ah, nice trap there. If I wasn't already so suspicious of your intentions, I might've not noticed it myself. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Huh? 'Where'd I get it'? Well, my kami-sama got it for me. Oh, right, that reminds me. Are you a member of a familia too, Lili?" Oho~? You're thinking to ask smart questions as well, Cranel? Never mind what I said earlier, my opinion of you is on the rise.

"Yep, the Soma Familia." 'Soma', eh? Unfortunately, not a name that I was all too familiar with at all, both in this world and my old one, which meant that I was going to have to go see Tulle or Hestia-sama for more information later. "Anyways, I'm going to start picking up all of these monster crystals. Hachiman-sama, do you think you could stay over there and keep watch?"

I hummed, once again popping my katana out ever so slightly.

Just as she said she would, Arde began to pick up all of the magic crystals littering the floor, but after the first, she glanced upwards and pointed towards something I couldn't see. "Oh, that one still has its crystal. Bell-sama, do you think you could get it? It's a bit too high for me to reach." Reaching back to her hip, the hooded supporter pulled a cheap looking dagger out and handed it over to Cranel. "Here, use this."

"Oh, uh, thanks." My familia took the weapon being offered to him.

"You want to call it a day after?"

Turning back towards whatever Arde had pointed towards, Cranel answered. "Um, yeah, now that you mention it, I'm pretty beat. I wouldn't really mind heading back now. How about you, Hachiman?"

"Well, if you don't feel like you can continue, I don't see much of a problem with stopping here." That and considering what our supporter was doing while your back was turned, there's something I needed to address.

Tiredly, I let out a sigh. Why couldn't I have just been wrong?

…

Out of all the insults thrown my way over the course of my life, the one that I never quite understood was being called a 'stalker'. Granted, I was nowhere near delusional enough to not understand that when I recited information that people didn't expect me to know, they'd be liable to jump to certain conclusions - unfounded conclusions, sure, but people often strayed towards the negative when faced with murky intent.

All that being said, the logic just never added up to me. I'm a proud, self-identifying loner for kami's sake! Why would I ever seek out contact with another person?

Anyways, the point is that I didn't have a lot of experience stalking people, despite what a lot of my classmates might've assumed. So, it was a good thing that I've seen more than enough intrigue plots to have a basic idea on what to do right now.

The Chienthrope who had introduced herself as Liliruca Arde stole Cranel's knife, slipped it right out of its sheath while the owner wasn't looking and now, just walked out of some sort of shop with a disgruntled look on her face. If I had to guess, it was probably because she just learned the intrinsic value of the knife when it wasn't in the right hands.

I couldn't help but smirk a little at that. There weren't many people who knew the actual value of the ebony blade. Sure, from appearances alone, one could probably guess that it cost a lot of money, but I doubted that anyone would go as high as one-hundred million valis. The only ones who knew about its exorbitant price tag were me, Hestia-sama, and Hephaestus. Hell, even its wielder only knew that it probably cost our kami-sama a lot to acquire.

So, of course, being made by the greatest smith in all the land and being worth more valis than most of Orario's people made in ten thousand lifetimes, the knife was outfitted with a certain precaution as to prevent possible theft from occurring - that precaution being the fact that it had been magically infused with my kami-sama's power, meaning that one had to have her blessing to even be able to use it in the first place. Right now, the stolen blade was nothing more than a knife-shaped chunk of metal, which made it practically worthless.

Still, worthless as of the moment or not, I still needed to get it back from her and gently remind her that (awfully executed) crime doesn't pay, and I couldn't do that if I remained hiding behind this corner. Besides, she should be at a far away enough distance where I could get back to tailing—

"Wait a second." My body stiffened up at that voice. Popping my head back out to look at Arde, I found that she had crossed paths with a certain pair of barmaids. Dammit. Well, that puts a damper on my plans to extort— I mean, teach her a lesson. "You, little Pallum, let me see that knife you're hiding in that cloak."

Woah, you actually noticed that? Note to self, Ryuu Lyon is a scary person who I should be scared of.

"Ryuu?" Clearly confused, Ryuu turned towards her elven friend.

"Someone I know lost theirs recently, I want to know if it belongs to them." A familiar chill ran down the length of my spine at the tone of her voice - void of all emotion, it still managed to promise nothing but pain and retribution.

"Oh, you must be mistaken, this is my knife!" Arde visibly tensed up as she said. Oh no, that's not going to help you at all. "Sorry, but I can't help you."

"Give me the knife." Being faced with clear deception, Lyon somehow managed to make herself seem even more intimidating. Wait, why did you just put a coin out—? "I only know one knife that looks like that and it certainly isn't yours."

Moving so fast that my eyes barely registered the action, the barmaid turned around and used her thumb to flick the coin at Arde's back, doing so with so much force that it made the supporter recoil forward and drop Cranel's knife upon impact.

I could feel my eyes widen and my jaw drop a little at that. Alright, correction, Ryuu Lyon was a scary person who I should be _really_ scared of.

Having been found out completely, the Chienthrope thief let out a scared yelp and darted forwards, prompting the elf to scoop up Cranel's knife and start chasing after her all in a single, deft motion. Syr followed after a moment, which told me that I should probably go and chase after them, but my feet remained glued to the dirt.

Just who in the hell was Ryuu Lyon?

* * *

**Interlude 7 | Despite Herself, Two Hands Reach Out to Liliruca Arde.**

…

"_So, uh, Lili…"_

I sighed as I let my back collide into the wall behind me. Letting myself slide all the way to the ground, I brought my legs up to my chest and hugged them closer.

"_Do you want to go back to the Dungeon with me and Hachiman?"_

My brows furrowed as I pressed my forehead into my knees.

"_I'll still need to run the idea by him, but when I tell him how many valis we made today, I'm sure he'll come around to the idea!"_

Those memories made his smile pop back into my head and not knowing what else to do, I slammed my right hand into the dirt.

"_Well, how about it? Would you like to officially be our supporter?"_

Relaxing the hold I had on my legs, I let my shoulders slump as I slammed the back of my head into the wall behind me. The short sting and the proceeding uncomfortable warmth allowed me to pull my attention away from what was bothering me.

Dammit, what in the world is wrong with me?

Guilt wasn't something I felt all too often, at least not when I stole from adventurers, but now it was swarming me. It was all because of that boy, the one who had been so kind to me from the very moment I approached me.

In a sense, my guilt made a lot of it. He had showed me something rare and put his trust in me, and my first instinct was to take it and abuse it for my own gain. And even when it became clear what my intentions towards him were, he gave me the opportunity to try again. Maybe not willingly, but still….

Was that just it? Was he just that incredibly stupid? Only an idiot could've been shown so many signs and not understand what they meant. Well, if that was the case, then what happens next was his own fault—

"For someone who's supposed to be a thief, you're not very good at being subtle." I could feel my eyes widen the moment that voice hit my ears. My head shot up to face it and I found myself staring at a familiar face, who stared back at me with a pair of beady, little grey eyes. "Yo."

Leaning on the wall opposite of the one I was sitting against with his arms crossed over his chest, my eyes immediately snapped onto the sword in his hand. "H-Hachiman-sama, what are you doing here?"

He stared at me for a moment, before closing his eyes and allowing his shoulders to fall. "Look, I'm going to tell you this once, that act of yours never fooled me. I knew you were going to try and steal Cranel's knife pretty much from the moment we met."

If my eyes could widen even further, they would've. Fear coursed through me once again as I instinctually pushed my back further into the wall behind me. "Wait, you knew?! But how did you—?"

"—Please, even Cranel noticed that there was something not quite right about why you approached him." Wait, so he knew too…? "He's just so trusting that he doesn't want to believe that you would do something like that."

I couldn't keep my head from falling forwards at that. "W-Well, even if that's true, then what are you going to do about it? He already got his knife back, so I don't have anything to offer you."

"Hm, what are you talking about? Of course you have something to offer me. You can tell me who that adventurer in the red coat was - the one you were following into Babel a couple days ago?" My body locked up upon hearing that. "I'm guessing you tried to steal something from him too?"

"'A-Adventurer in a red coat'?" My mouth moved to answer the boy, but the words came out sounding shaky. "I-I don't know what you're—"

"—I wouldn't really blame you if you did." His interruption made my body lock up again, but this time for an entirely different reason. Looking back up towards Hachiman-sama, I found that he now had a large sneer on his face. "With how he was treating you, I'd say he had it coming." Suddenly, he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to me, only stopping when he was standing right over me. "However, I don't remember me or Cranel treating you like that, so what's your reason?"

I blinked and stared up at the boy. "M-My reason?"

"Yeah, I don't think anyone would go through all this trouble if they just wanted money." He squatted down and looked me right in the eye. "So, why?"

"'Why'? You're seriously asking me, a lowly supporter, why would I ever steal from an adventurer?" A sudden indignation coursed through me, causing my head to drop once more as I balled my right hand into a fist and squeezed. "Don't make me laugh, there's no way someone like you could ever understand!"

Instead of a response, all I recieved from the boy was silence. Hmph, I expected as much. Hopefully that would be enough get him to leave me—

From out of nowhere, the beady-eyed boy let out a sigh that interrupted my thought. "So, you're one of those types, huh?" Suddenly, the boy's legs straightened. "Well, if you don't want my help, I can't force it on you." Wait, 'help'? "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you, Arde."

Hearing that made my head shoot upwards and upon doing so, I found that the boy had already turned to walk away. Panic and confusion spiked within me, materializing itself as a hollowness in my stomach as I watched him move further and further away.

I knew that it was probably too good to be true. Everything that I had gone through in my life told me that, screamed at me to just let him leave. We hadn't even known each other for a day, there was no way he actually cared, but….

"W-Why?" Reluctantly, despite all my efforts to keep it from doing so, that word slipped from my mouth and unfortunately, the rest came surging out with it. "Why would you say that?"

My question caused Hachiman-sama to stop. He turned his whole body to face me, before almost immediately turning his head to face a wall. "I did it for Cranel's sake."

"Bell-sama?"

"Yeah, knowing him, he'll probably want to hire you to be our supporter officially and since you did just try to steal from him, I was going to have to tell him about all this." The raven-haired boy breathed in and let out a sigh as he turned back towards me. "But since I know him so well, I know he's the type of idiot to want and help regardless, so consider this me being proactive."

For a plethora of reasons, his explanation left me entirely speechless. He offered to help me because he thought his familia would anyway? On one hand, that had to have been one of the dumbest, most nonsensical things I've ever heard and on another, he said it all so calmly, so evenly that I found it hard to call it a complete lie. Still, nothing about him told me that I could just trust him, but even if he did have an alternative motive, what if…?

Taking a deep breath, I did my best to calm myself as I asked the question that plagued my mind. "If… If I tell you, will you really help me?"

"Well, I have only been an adventurer for a month, so try and keep your expectations in check." Smirking, he scratched at the back of his head as he answered, which didn't help give me much hope, but eventually, he returned to a more even expression. "But I'll lend you an ear at the very least, will that do?"

"I…" Would it? It was far from the answer that I wanted to hear, but if it gave me the slightest chance of improving my situation? "I want to be free of my familia."

It was definitely better than nothing.

* * *

What did it mean to help someone? Depending on who you asked, the response you'd get could differ greatly. Take the Yukinoshita sisters for example; despite the fact that they grew up together, I knew that their opinions on the matter were the complete opposites of one another.

When we first met, the younger Yukinoshita touted it as something virtuous - believing it to be the responsibility of those with ability to help those who didn't. The older, however, had a different view of things - believing that personal growth not driven by the person was nothing more than a hindrance to them. Either way, both views had their own merit, no matter how much I disliked it.

In my own case, there was a time where I rejected the idea of help as well, although not in the same way that Yukinoshita Haruno did. What she saw as an obstacle, I saw as something irritating. More often than not, I didn't want and I didn't need anyone's help, all because I'd rather fail entirely on my merit than have someone lorde their superiority over me. Then I was forced to join the Service Club, which forced me to face an idea that I hadn't ever wanted to consider.

Time after time, when faced with the opportunity to help someone solve a problem, I did. It didn't matter how begrudgingly I did so or what justification I managed to scrounge up to have it all make sense in my head. All that mattered was that when it came down to it, I could never help myself, even if the result was detrimental to me.

That's why I currently found myself sitting outside the Abandoned Church I called home, sitting right next to the front door, staring at nothing as I seriously contemplated the best way to help Liliruca Arde free herself from the Soma Familia.

In all respects, I shouldn't have been considering it at all. Even though the request didn't have any inherent hostile connotations to it, actually trying to solve it would immediately put us at odds with another familia and the Hestia Familia was still far from a position in which I could even pretend it was a good idea. That being said, the fact that I didn't have a single idea as to what Soma's actual standing in Orario was didn't help things along at all either.

Sure, the fact that I had never heard of him up until today was a good thing since that probably meant that he wasn't on the level of Loki, but Arde did mention that there were quite a few people walking around with his falna, which already put us at a disadvantage if things were to go awry.

Clearly, I was going to need more information before I made a decision on this—

"Ah, so you were out here, Hachiman?" Oh, Cranel? Where did you come from? Turning to face my left, I found my white-haired familia standing over me, a relieved look on his face for whatever reason. I couldn't help but notice how our home's front doors had been cracked open just enough to allow passage. Eh, how'd you manage to do that without me noticing? "I was beginning to get worried. How did Crozzo-san like your feedback—."

"—That? Oh, that was a lie." Having already prepared myself to have this conversation, I breathed in deep before using the bottom of my sword's sheath to push myself to my feet.

"'A lie'?" Eh, what's with that surprise? There's no way that this is the first time I've ever lied to you, can it? Oh wait, right, this is the first time I've ever told you about it outright. Heh. "Why would you lie about something like that?"

"I needed to have a conversation with Arde about your knife. I assume you already know what actually happened with it, right?"

Cranel let out a sheepish chuckle and started to scratch at the back of his head as I did so, probably hoping that all of that movement would distract me from the fact he took a step backwards. "You heard about that, huh? I think I must've dropped it somewhere because Lyon-san ended up finding it—"

"—Don't play dumb with me, Cranel." My familia's entire body stiffened when I said that. "You're nowhere near a good enough liar."

"M-Me lying?" The albino's crimson eyes shot open at the accusation, waving his hands out in front of him as if that would actually convince me otherwise. "I'm not lying to you at all! I mean, when have I ever lied to you about anything?"

…Eh, fair point and your delivery is starting to get better, but that stutter gave you away from the start. "Do you seriously expect me to believe that you just so happened to have dropped your knife somewhere? I may insult you a lot, but I know you're not that dumb, Cranel. You know Arde stole your knife, don't you?"

My familia pursed his lips and hung his head. "Yeah…."

"Ah, good." I exhaled hearing that, closing my eyes in the process. Well, at least, I won't have to worry about convincing him now. "That'll make this next part much easier."

"Hachiman, b-before you say anything, I feel like I need to tell you something." Opening my eyes, I was immediately beset upon by something that made me want to roll my eyes. It was something I liked to call Cranel's 'dumbass face'. Others might say that it was more akin to a 'look of determination' or whatever, but with Cranel involved, the two might as well have been synonyms. Either way, the boy was now boring his crimson eyes into me and I stared back wordlessly. "I don't care that Lili-chan tried to steal from me."

_Stop_.

Hearing that made me want to sigh, but knowing what that might imply to my familia, I kept myself from doing so. Oh, of course, he'd assume that I'd try and tell him that to stay away from Arde. I forgot that I'm supposed to be the pragmatic one. Actually, now that I think about it, I could see how this whole scene would be framed too.

The two of us meeting late at night, after having been out of each other's presence for a little while? Add in the fact that I started the conversation by saying some pretty vague and antagonistic-sounding things? Yeah, this was supposed to be one of the first moments in the story that really defined our rivalry.

'Rivalry'? What rivalry? Aren't you two in the same familia? How could you two possibly be rivals? Well, let me explain.

Based on almost every piece of media I've ever consumed, there was no way that I wasn't supposed to be Cranel's rival character. How did I know this? Well, there's the fact that in almost every tangible aspect, we were the other's complete opposite.

Appearance? He had light hair and I had dark hair; I had the dull, dead-looking eyes that were often described as off-putting and he had the bright, lively kind that seemed to trap someone's attention from first sight. Personality-wise? I would basically be saying all the same stuff, but replacing all the nouns.

I'm supposed to be Cranel's mirror image in every way. So, when we ran into moral dilemmas like this one, that trend was supposed to continue. Hikigaya Hachiman and his cold, calculating pragmatism was supposed to clash against Bell Cranel and his warm, friendly naivete.

Fortunately for the both of us, I've never been one to chase trends.

_Go_.

"I just don't think that she'd—"

"—Good because I don't care either."

"…Eh?!"

Wait, no, that came out sounding harsher than I wanted. Better clarify before he gets the wrong idea. "Well, to be specific, I stopped caring after I spoke to Arde about it. Say, right before I interrupted, were you about to say something like, 'she just doesn't seem like the kind of person to do something like that without a reason'?"

"Oh, y-yeah." My familia's eyes were wide as saucers as he stuttered out his response. Oi, did you seriously just take another step back? You're not helping my attempts to sandbag this conflict, y'know? "H-How'd you know?"

"Because that's exactly what I thought, although probably not in the same way you did." Also, you're one of the most predictable people I know, Cranel, but that didn't make what I just said any less true. "People always have one reason or another to justify why they do something, even murderers and thieves. Now, do you want to know what her reasoning was?" The boy didn't say anything in response but nodded after a moment's hesitation. "She wants to leave her familia."

"'L-Leave her familia'?" Cranel took a step forward as he asked the question. "Why would she want to do something like that? That's—"

"—Cranel, she's a supporter." Already having a feeling as to what he was going to say, I had to cut my naive familia off and remind him of that fact. "You want to know what that means? It means that, from the very start, her familia deemed her not worthy of being an adventurer and let's just say that kind of treatment extended out to a lot of other things." My standard frown deepened as those words left my mouth. "I'm sure that I don't have to spell out what I mean by that, right?"

"But if that's the case, then why doesn't her kami-sama step in and do something?" Anger was now present in the albino's voice. Tense shoulders, grit teeth, and balled up fists too? Yeah, you're starting to get pissed. Good. Really, I'd be more worried if it turned out you weren't. "He gave her his blessing, didn't he? That means she's his child too - just as much as any of the adventurers! How could he let stuff like that happen?"

The question made me sigh. In the end, despite our current economic circumstances, the fact was that me and Cranel were pretty lucky to have found Hestia-sama. "Arde said that it's because her kami-sama doesn't care about anything other than making wine. Now, I really don't know what any of that means, but as of right now, we can't be wasting time wondering about intent. If her familia really is that shitty to her, then I don't see much of a problem in lending a hand. You?"

"Of course, I'll help!" I couldn't help but smile. Why'd I even bother to ask? "I can't dream about being a hero and let something like that go on!"

Snorting, I nodded. "Alright, but before you run off playing the hero, there are still a few things we need to figure out first. I wanna help as much as you do, but let's not jump into conflict with another familia without taking the proper precautions first."

"Oh, y-yeah, you're right!" Cranel visibly startled as he sputtered out his response, which made me chuckle under my breath. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Well, first, we need to figure out what we're dealing with. I don't know about you, but I don't know much about Soma or his familia."

"Oh, earlier when I went to go turn in our magic crystals today, Eina-san said something about them!" Right index finger extending outwards, excitement poured into the albino's eyes as he spoke. I blinked at that. Huh, so you actually went out of your way to look into it? Well, that's a pleasant surprise. "Apparently, they're an expeditionary familia like us, but they also sell booze too." Oh, so they sell alcohol? Alright, at the very least that eliminates the possibility that Arde was alluding to something else with that whole 'making his wine' bit. "Although, with how she was talking about them, I don't think that they're very well-liked."

Not well-liked? Huh. In a world like this, I would've thought that a familia who made and sold alcohol would have a better public image. "Did Tulle mention why?"

"No, not really." Scratching at the back of his head, Cranel turned his head up towards the sky. "I don't think she knows too much about them either unfortunately, but she did say that whenever they come to turn in their monster crystals, they always seemed really desperate for whatever reason."

I let out a sigh at that. A part of me wanted to mentally berate my guild advisor for saying something so vague, but still, it implied that things might be going wrong for the familia and that was definitely a better platform to start out with. "Well, that's not much to go off of."

"Yeah…."

Damn, I figured that we were going to need to go out and do more research, but—

"Oh, Bell-kun, Hachi-kun!" My brain came to a grinding halt when I heard my kami-sama call out to me. Turning towards where it was coming from, I found Hestia-sama stepping off of the road in front of our home and into our front yard. Ah, she's still wearing her food stand apron. She must've just gotten back from work. "What are you two doing out here so late? Is there something wrong?"

Oh, right. I forgot that you're totally someone who might have useful information in this situation, but how do I even bring the subject up—

"Oh, kami-sama, you're back! Do you know anything about a kami named Soma?" …Oh, yeah, how could I forget that the possibility of all subtlety died when Cranel was around?

"'Soma'?" Hestia-sama blinked at the sudden question. Cupping her chin, she turned her blue eyes up towards the sky. "I've certainly heard the name before, but I can't say that I know too much about him. I never really talked to him, even when we were still both up in Heaven." Pouting, she crossed her arms over her chest and went silent for a moment, before suddenly perking up. "Oh, I do know that he makes really good wine! I've had it a few times since I've come down from Heaven and it's always been really tasty - really expensive, though."

I frowned and clicked my tongue at that. Dammit, back to square one then.

It seemed that my response peaked the interest of my kami-sama because she turned her head to face me. "Oh, is there something wrong, Hachi-kun?"

"No, I was just hoping you knew something about him."

"Oh, okay." She turned back to Cranel. "What made you ask about him anyways? Did you two run into him or something?"

The question made me take a deep breath in. Alright, knowing Cranel, this conversation is about to take a turn for the worse. Best prepare myself now for the coming argument. Well, at the very least, I can always use Cranel against her since he's with me on this—

"Oh no, it's just that our new supporter is a member of their familia is all." Once again, I found my entire brain coming to a halt. I even had to fight the urge to look surprised. "I asked Eina-san about it earlier today, but she really didn't know much about it at all."

"Oh, you two hired a supporter? That's great! My children are becoming more and more like real deal adventurers by the day!"

"Ah, but we are real deal adventurers, though!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say~. So, what's your new supporter like?"

"Oh? What's she like? Well, first off, she seems really smart—"

"—Wait, did you just say 'she'?"

As the conversation devolved back into our usual familial trappings, I couldn't help but tune more and more of it out so I could focus on what just happened. In all of my time knowing him, I never thought that these words would cross my mind in reference to him in any serious context, but now I was practically being forced to.

Did Cranel just lie?

…

As one might infer from my earlier musings about how hard it is to hide information, doing the opposite was by far the much easier task.

Despite the best efforts of all those involved, no information was ever completely hidden. More often than not, all one really needs to learn top secret information is to look for and find someone who knows about it and get them to talk. That was much easier said than done in my old world where methods of surveillance were at an all time high, but here in Orario? People were always talking, you just need to know where to find the information you're looking for.

"Wait, you want to go where?!"

In retrospect though, I probably shouldn't have told Cranel about where I wanted to start looking first, especially when we were walking down the crowded street towards Babel.

"The Pleasure District." I deepened my frown and shrugged my shoulders as I repeated what I had just said literally a second beforehand. Seriously, I get that you were caught off guard and all, but what's the point of making me repeat myself? Has all your shouting finally started to deafen you, Cranel? Well, welcome to the club then! You've only gotten yourself to blame! Talk softer, dammit! "There an issue?"

"N-No, but why would you want to go there? You do know what The Pleasure District is, right?"

"Yes, I'm fully aware of what wanting to go to the Pleasure District means." I rolled my eyes at my familia's prudity. You can take a face full of Hestia-sama's greatest weapons and not flinch, but you'll start choking up and stuttering at the mere mention of a place where sex happens? Hmph, aren't you a walking contradiction? "I'm going there to see if I can find any place that knows anything about the Soma Familia. Considering that it's an entire district meant for pleasure, I figured that there would have to be people there that know their alcohol."

"O-Oh, well, I guess that makes sense…." Fortunately, explaining my plan seemed to quell my familia's worries. Wait, no, he's pressing the tips of his index fingers together. Looks like this conversation is continuing. "For a second, I thought that you wanted to go there because you wanted to, uh, y'know?"

Narrowing my eyes at the insinuation, I turned my head fully to glare at my familia. "Oi, just what kind of guy do you take me for?"

"Oh, uh…." Yeah, you better tense up and start looking all over the place, especially with what you were implying.

"Anyways, while I'm doing that, I need you to go and start asking around taverns too." I turned to look back in front of me as I informed Cranel on his portion of our information gathering quest. "Oh and make sure to make it seem like you're just looking to buy some of their wine. I'd rather not draw any attention."

"Got it!" From the corner of my eye, I could see my familia nod his head energetically before suddenly turning to face me. "Wait, this reminds me, are we going to have Arde be our supporter today? I know that you wanted to wait on making a decision about helping her, but—"

"—We'll hire her."

"Woah, wait, really?!"

I didn't bother to acknowledge my party member's shock and simply shrugged. "I said it, didn't I?"

Really, outside of the attempt to steal from Cranel, there was no real reason for me to not consider hiring Arde to be our supporter. When we were in the Dungeon, she performed her job admirably and even boosted our productivity by a lot. We made it down past the fifth floor in half our usual time and we even got to the seventh floor, and weren't dead tired when we did so. We somehow even made 18,000 more valis than average, bringing our total for the day to 21,000 valis (7,000 each).

In the end, it seemed that being able to focus solely on killing monsters did in fact make us better at killing them. Who would've thought?

"Oh, but be sure to keep her at arm's length." That being said, I liked making money, not being an idiot. There was no way that I was just going to forget that the little Chienthrope tried to steal a knife that put my kami-sama in a hundred million valis in debt. "She's not in the clear until we can prove what she's saying about the Soma Familia is the truth, got it?"

Instead of instantly responding, the albino stared at me for a moment before letting one of his usual smiles cross his face. "Got it, Hachiman."

Eh, what the hell was with that reaction for?

…

Being a high schooler, I naturally didn't have a lot of experience with Red Light Districts. Actually, considering my idea of a 'crazy night out on the town' was not leaving my home at all, it would probably be more accurate to describe my level of experience with them as 'beyond lacking'.

That being said, unlike my white-haired cohort, the idea of going to Orario's version was far from a daunting one. Not to imply that I didn't have my reservations, but fortunately, going in with the mindset of having better things to do than worry about seemed to help get me past the first threshold without much issue - that first threshold being the literal wall that kept the Pleasure District hidden away from the rest of Orario.

Now, I had as much knowledge of city planning as Yuigahama did math (practically none whatsoever), but I couldn't help but be appalled at the lack of subtlety behind the choice. Keeping the place where all the city's vice takes place behind actual closed doors? Really? Then again, I probably shouldn't have expected as much from the people who thought it was a good idea to turn Babel Tower into a glorified shopping mall instead of anything of actual value. Also, in all fairness, it wasn't like the actual place itself was any more subtle about its function either.

Thanks to various forms of popular media, I knew that Red Light Districts in this kind of setting often housed brothels, but nothing could've prepared me for the sheer amount of exposed skin that I would see from the moment I stepped foot into the place. It didn't just stop there either.

As far as the eye could see, women of the night were trying their best to get all those passing by to pay for their services, doing so openly and brazenly. Flirting, various forms of chiding, and even light touching that extended up to full on grinding up on people; no method of advertisement was spared. Being a fully functioning seventeen year old boy, I couldn't describe it all as anything other than sensual— _Ahem_. I mean, sensory overload.

Other than that, the Pleasure District seemed no different from any of the other business oriented streets in Orario. Although, the sweet smelling incense that seemed to follow me no matter where I went and the actual red tinge of the magic crystal lamps were a dead give away that this wasn't the rest of Orario.

How did they even manage to get them to look like that? Tinted glass? A special kind of magic crystal maybe? Either way, whoever's decision it was to make them that way, it's really obnoxious. I get it. This is the Red Light District. You don't need to keep bashing me over the head with that fact. Please stop.

"Hey there, big fella~!" Oi, didn't I just say to quit it with the reminders?! "Why don't you bring that studly rear over here and give little ol' me some company?"

"C-C-Certainly, fine madam! H-H-H-How shall I—" Knowing where that conversation was heading and preemptively wanting to die from second-hand embarrassment because of it, I forced myself to tune it out. Poor sap, I hope your performance between the sheets is better than the one you put up on the streets. I'd like to say that I'm rooting for you but I could also honestly care less.

"Well, well, what's a fine little lady like yourself—" Yeah, no, cutting that one off too. Still, it's good to know that there are ways women can have a good time here too if they want or, at the very least, I hope that was the intent behind you walking up to that girl, hot guy host-san. Not that I would be surprised if a reality so dark existed in a world like this.

"Hey, hey, onii-chan~!" Wait, did I just hear someone say onii-chan—? No! Don't fall for it, Hachiman! That call for help is impure, tainted, completely unlike that of Komachi. It'll surely lead you to a path worse than damnation. "Do you have some time for me? I really need your help with my—"

Letting out a sigh, I kept my focus on the path in front of me and did my best to continue down it, which didn't seem any less clear of potential pitfalls at all. It was times like this where I was happy to know that the most powerful of my 101 skills, Stealth Hikki, more often than not worked as intended. If I had any more of a presence than none at all, this mission surely would've been a lost cause from the start.

That being said, it was probably best I get started on that mission now before I found my attention being led astray any further. Alright….

**Mission start!** Current objective: locate a tavern and procure information on the Soma Familia.

If I were in a video game, me saying that would automatically update my HUD and show me where I needed to go without much effort on my end, but unfortunately, life couldn't be so simple and streamlined, meaning that I had to _stop_ time and actually scan the road in front of me for information.

On paper, one might find the idea of having to actively search for and find a tavern in the Pleasure District somewhat oxymoronic, considering that this was Orario's little niche for all things vice, but so far, it was proving to be much more difficult in practice.

Even after having slowed all the commotion going on around me to a halt, I still couldn't see any signs of what I was looking for. Sure, I had just arrived here a few moments ago and thus, haven't really gotten farther than the main road, but as far as my eyes could see, it was still brothels upon brothels.

Logic dictated that I not assume that the entire district would be composed solely of them, but heeding that knowledge would also force me to acknowledge that I would need to venture further into the district to actually find them, which made the cautionary part of my mind scream that I should give up and head home while I was ahead and still had my innocence.

Still, for the sake of information, I needed to thrust myself further into the depths in front of me, whether I liked it or not. Lol.

_Go_.

…

The process of establishing a place's atmosphere was a difficult thing to try and explain; as while there were plenty of small details to take into account when doing so, there was always the possibility that none of them may prove to be necessary when everything was said and done.

For example, before they did anything else, one had to look at what they were describing and figure out the scale in which to describe it on. Was your focus an entire city spanning countless kilometers? It was best to keep away from listing finer details and make note of things in a more general light. The opposite? Then, the very same principle might be your best bet or it might not be. Basically, you had to judge these things on a case by case basis, which was exactly what I was trying to do with the tavern standing in front of me.

In terms of specifics, it wasn't all too different from the rest of the buildings around it - it being just one of many that sat interconnected to one another on this street. Some were longer than others, some were taller, but they all shared the same basic characteristics. Red brick walls that held up various kinds of wood ornaments that only really served as an aesthetic difference between the shops.

Now, I knew that this was probably because of this world having a lack of variation when it came to building materials, but the lack of overall differences made me wonder if this was all someone's conscious decision. Nonetheless, the point is that, outside of all of the sparse signage indicating that it sold alcohol, it pretty much looked like all of the other buildings around it. Wait, this place is named _The Randy Wolf_? Ew, that's gross—creepy even. How did this place get any business with a name like that?

…Eh, whatever. It's not like I came here expecting the highest brow of all establishments in the first place.

Entering the tavern, I found myself being sorely disappointed with the decor of the place. I didn't know what I was expecting, but for a place that dubbed itself _The Randy Wolf_, I certainly expected something a little less bog standard. Really, the only defining quality it had interior design wise was its size and layout, which was much more reminiscent of a few hole in the wall ramen shops I knew of back home than an actual tavern - it only having enough room in its front dining area for four large tables and had several smaller ones lining the strip of space extending towards the back of the establishment (that also housed the a long bar/food prep area).

Other than that, its actual furniture seemed to be almost identical to that of every other tavern I've entered. Then again, that list of taverns only really consisted of _The Hostess of Fertility_ so maybe I wasn't the best judge on that— Hold up, that name is just as gross and creepy now that I think about it!

"Eh, a customer? This early into the night?" Before I could go any further down that trail of disgusted realization, a voice called out to me and reminded me that I actually needed to turn _Sokudoku_ on before I monologue like that, as to keep from looking like a complete and utter weirdo. "What's wrong, kid? Not even the ladies outside willing to take you?"

Unsurprisingly, I could only describe the voice that had asked me that as deep and gruff, but in a different way than what I was accustomed to. Normally, those descriptors would tell me that the speaker was a man, but this voice had a certain quality to it that kept me from jumping to that conclusion immediately. Maybe there was something in the pitch or overall cadence, but for whatever reason, my mind didn't immediately jump to that conclusion. Fortunately, turning towards the voice illuminated the reason for that almost immediately.

"Well, what are you doing dawdling over there for?" That reason being that the person talking to me was, in fact, not a man but a woman. "C'mon, get your sorry behind over here and sit down. I can help you drown your sorrows plenty."

_Stop_.

Stopping time dead in its tracks to give myself time to come up with a good response, my eyes scanned the woman speaking to me and the first thing that caught my attention was the big black eyepatch that sat on top of where her right eye should be. Its size told me a lot, considering that it covered near that entire side of her face. Unsurprisingly, the next thing that caught my eye afterward was the eye that she didn't have to hide, which was a pale blue, almost grey and had a sharpness to it that made the muscles in my back want to stiffen up for a second. Yeah, definitely not someone I wanted to underestimate.

Outside of that, there wasn't much else about her that I felt needed to be addressed in full detail. She had a pair of black triangular ears on top of her head that reminded me of that unbearably loud teammate of Wallenstein's, which led down to long black hair that extended to her mid-back. If she were wearing a suit and an inexplicable lab coat instead of a plain blue dress and a white smock, I'd call her a spitting image of Hiratsuka-sensei. Well, a spitting image of her if she were both European and also this world's version of a werewolf. So, really, they didn't look that much alike at all.

With that in mind, however, the stranger in front of me seemed to share one thing with my former Japanese teacher and that was the general energy she exuded. Instead of the usual sugar, spice, and everything nice that women were made of; this woman seemed to be made out of snip, snails, and puppy-dog tails, which was fortunate because I already knew how to get on her good side.

_Go_.

Trudging my way over to the bar, I sat myself down onto the very first stool in the line of them, putting a comfortable amount of distance between me and the bartender.

"Sitting all the way over there, huh? You the distant type or something?"

"There's distance between us, isn't there?" Purposefully not sparing her a glance, I leaned forward onto the bar and propped my right elbow onto the bar before resting my cheek on my hand. I never thought I'd ever say this but it was a good thing that adventuring was such a tiring occupation. At the very least, it made acting disgruntled and exhausted really easy.

The werewolf was silent for a moment before chuckling. Good. Not even a minute in and I'm already halfway finished with my first objective: establish a rapport. "So, it's like that then? Alright, what're you having to drink tonight?"

"Ale, please. No rush if you were busy with something before I came in, though."

"Hmph, do I really look that busy to you, kid?"

"Not really, but I didn't want to be presumptuous."

"'Presumptuous'? Kid, there isn't a soul in here besides us two." I felt like smirking when I heard that, but knowing that such a reaction would garner suspicion from the barkeep, I did my best to keep my satisfaction in check. "That wouldn't be presuming at all, that's just common sense."

Having already accomplished another goal of mine, I shrugged. "Whatever you say."

More silence followed my conceding. What? No smug follow up about me being wrong? Not even a self-righteous 'you're damn right'? Wow, such kindness! Maybe I was wrong to try and compare you to Hiratsuka-sensei. I'd never be able to live losing an argument with her down.

"Alright, here's your ale, kid." Hearing wood slide against wood, I turned towards my left and found a mug being slid across the bar towards me. _Stop_. Note the angle of approach and cut it off with my hand when it gets close enough. _Go_.

Lifting my head up off my hand, I carried through with my plan, the amber liquid in the mug sloshing slightly as it came to a stop against my palm. "Thanks."

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you, though?" I raised my brow when the barkeep started to scratch at the back of her head. Eh, what's with that reaction? Is thanking your server really something to be surprised by here in Orario? Wow, this really is an uncouth city. "You're a real polite kid, you know that?" The werewolf shot me a toothy grin. "And here I was thinking that you'd be a pain when you first walked in here."

Um… Didn't we just finish trading verbal barbs not too long ago? "'Polite', eh?" I scoffed at the compliment. "If you consider me polite, then I don't even want to know what your usual customer base is like."

"Well, you bothered to say 'please' and 'thank you', that's a good start in my books." The eyepatch wearing werewolf made a show of contemplating the topic, using her left hand to cup her chin and placing the right on her hip. She was even looking down towards the ground— Wait, are you actually thinking about this seriously?! "Oh, and you didn't come in here already piss drunk, ranting and raving about some dame that wouldn't jump on your meat. That helps."

I blinked at the werewolf. That wasn't a high bar to clear at all…. "That so? Well, it looks like I chose a good time to stop in then."

"Not a fan of the noise, I take it? Yeah, you definitely seem like the type." Oi, what in the hell is that supposed to mean? You're not wrong but still! "Anyways, you never answered my question, kid. What're you doing here?"

Shrugging at the still jovial werewolf, I took a swig from the mug in front of me. Ugh, yep, still gross. "I wanted a drink."

"There are plenty of places outside the Pleasure District if you wanted a drink." Hands on the bar, my server's face lost its smile and became more serious. "This place, though? The only people that come here are the whores outside and all the people who couldn't pay them to have sex with them, and I reckon it's still too early for either to be the case."

Shit, the reasoning for her suspicion was actually really sound. It was a good thing that I didn't actually need to have one myself to counter it, otherwise I would actually have to pause time to think of one. "And? What are you even doing open this early if people don't usually come in until later?"

"Fair enough." Leaning back and off of the bar, a smile returned to the werewolf's face. "Although, you do know that lets me fill in the gaps how I want, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want." Snorting, I waved off her question and took another swig of my ale. Like I care what some random bartender thought of me. Oh, right, I hate the taste of ale. Yuck. Wait, that reminds me…. "By the way, you have anything stronger than this?"

"What? You trying to insult me, kid? Of course, I have stuff stronger than that." Crossing her arms over her chest, her smile turned into a grin and suddenly, I felt as though I had just stepped onto a landmine. "Why? That ale not doing you in quick enough?"

Doing my best to ignore how quickly she perked up and what that might possibly entail, I shrugged, took another swig of my drink, and purposefully allowed my distaste for what just entered my mouth to reach the surface. "No, I just hate the taste of ale. So, really, anything that tastes better would do as long as it gets me drunk."

"Ah, so you might be one of them stuffy wine drinking types then." Unsurprisingly, she showed no qualms in displaying her disappointment to me. Hah? Did I get your hopes up or something? Great, now you're _really_ starting to remind me of Hiratsuka-sensei. "Well, I suppose that I've got a few bottles stashed away in the back somewhere…." Scratching at the side of her head, she cast a weary gaze off towards her right. "What were you thinking about having?"

"Got anything made by Soma?" The question made the werewolf freeze. "I keep hearing he makes some of the strongest stuff around, so it seems like it's a good enough place to start."

"You want some wine, eh?" Arms returning to back under her chest, I found myself being met with a large dose of speculation from the barkeep once more. "No offense, kid, but I think you might be punching a little bit above your weight there."

"Eh, why do you say that?" I didn't quite feign my reaction to the jab. "Is that stuff really that strong?"

"Saying that it's strong would be underselling it. I've only ever drunk the imperfect stuff before, but even that only took a single cup to get me buzzed. Word is that the pure stuff can get your soul drunk, whatever that means."

I wolf-whistled at the claim. It's so strong that it could get your soul drunk, huh?

On the surface, it sounded like a long-winded exaggeration to play up the wine's quality, but considering that the wine was being made by an actual God, I couldn't quite dismiss the thought outright. So, what could getting your soul drunk possibly entail? Wait, didn't Cranel say something about some of the familia members acting really desperate earlier? Couldn't that mean….

"Oi, barkeep, what do I owe you for the ale?" Mind now set on what my next steps were, I stood up from my stool, hand already traveling down to the coin pouch on my hip.

"Hm? 20 valis, why? What's up? You planning on leaving already?" The werewolf placed her hands on her hips as she closed her eyes and shot me a disappointed frown. "I mean, you've barely even touched your drink. You could've at least kept me company until the rush starts, y'know?"

Rolling my eyes at that last part, I placed down what I owed onto the bar. Getting distinct flashbacks to some talks I had with Hiratsuka-sensei, a part of me wanted to take a jab at her for what she just said, but I knew that'd only put me at risk of getting sucked into an unnecessary conversation.

"Sorry, but I've got better things to do than hang around some lonely wolf all night." So, I worked it in as I turned towards the door and bid my farewell. "Thanks for the ale."

"Hah! You're welcome, you cheeky brat." I thought that'd be the end of our conversation, but right as I reached the door, I stopped when I heard the barkeep saying one more thing. "Oh and despite the eyepatch, I'm not as blind as I look. Next time you wanna use me for information, just come out and ask. It's not like I've got better things to do around this time anyways."

I turned back towards the werewolf and flashed her a smirk, before exiting out the door. Well, that certainly turned out better than expected—

Before I could finish that thought, I felt something graze my right shoulder, doing so with enough force that it knocked me flat onto my face. Now, I didn't know if having a falna actually played a factor in this or not, but being basically super-human, I figured that it'd take quite a lot to do something like that. So, naturally, I couldn't help but turn and see what had barrelled into me.

…I don't know what I expected to see, but I certainly didn't expect a basically half-naked Amazonian woman. Oi, watch where you're— Wait, what the hell are those pants?! Why are you even bothering to wear them if you can see right through them!

Having been bumped into quite a bit over my seventeen years of life, I expected to hear one of two responses. The first being the most common: a hurried, half-hearted apology that I'm sure had been uttered a million times over. The second being general reproach, which was a lot less common but certainly far more memorable. Be it a disgusted glare from over their shoulder or a simple 'watch where you're going', the faces of all of those people got burned into my memory and then went onto my 'will murder' list.

All that being said, what I received from this woman was somehow far more insulting.

The Amazon didn't say anything and didn't even turn to look my way. The fact that I was in her way in the first place didn't even seem to register to her. To her, I was basically no better than the dirt under her bare feet.

A part of me wanted to say something - my mouth even opened to do so, but something held me back. Maybe it was the logical side of my brain reminding me that I didn't want to make waves here or the fact the woman bumped into me and nearly took me clean off my feet, but it promptly shut itself as I watched her continue down the street before eventually turning a corner.

I snorted. White, huh?

…

Covering up my yawn with my hand, I used my other hand to pull open the door to my basement home.

"Ah, Hachiman's home!" Without having even taken a step down the stairs, my ears were already being beset with my familia's yelling. I let out a snort as I once again dragged my work weary body down the stairs, half expecting to be pounced on the moment I stepped down off of the final step and as luck would have it, that's exactly what happened. "How did your business in the Pleasure District go? What was it like? How many women were there? Are you still, uh… _intact_?"

Is this what the corporate slaves who own dogs feel every time they go home for the day? If so, I don't understand what all the hype is about. This isn't relaxing me or making me feel loved at all! Also, what was with that hamfisted euphemism at the end there? If you're gonna say something that incredibly blunt in your attempt to be subtle, then you might as well just come out and ask! "I'm not even going to justify that last question by responding to it."

"Oh, uh…" My familia scratched at the back of his head as he let out a sheepish chuckle. "So, I take it that nothing happened then?"

"Cranel…" I closed my eyes as I let out a sigh. "I know that we've been doing well in the Dungeon ever since we hired Arde, but even then, what even makes you think that I had the money to pay a woman to have sex with me?"

Aforementioned albino let out an exaggerated gasp. Reopening my eyes, I found that he was now physically recoiling backwards. "So, you _did_ think about it then?"

I raised my brow at my familia's question. "I mean, I'm a guy, aren't I? Am I suddenly not allowed to have thoughts about the opposite sex?"

"But come on, you have to admit that it completely goes against your whole self-identity!" Hah? 'Identity'? Cranel, isn't that like the second time you've brought that up in the past week? Let me tell you this, my loud familia, the people who keep talking about identities tend to be the ones who don't have one of their own. So, by— Wait, why does this rant sound familiar? "I mean, nothing ever seems to phase you, even when you're talking to a pretty girl." Pressing the tips of his fingers together, he cast a sideways glance down at the ground next to him. "And I know that you said there were girls you've liked before, but I just sorta figured that you weren't into _that_ sorta stuff, y'know?"

I blinked at the explanation. Being completely dumbfounded by my familia's reasoning, I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Cranel, I'm going to tell you this once and once only." Reopening my eyes, I looked my familia dead in his bewildered, crimson eyes. "I'm not a prude just because I don't get flustered at every woman I meet."

"R-Really?!" Was physically recoiling really necessary there, Cranel?

Letting out a sigh, I shook my head and made my way over to my makeshift bed. "Believe whatever you want, Cranel. I'm way too tired to be having this conversation."

"Wait, so if you do have, uh… _those_ sorta thoughts, then does that mean you've had some about Hestia-sama?"

The question stopped me dead in my tracks. Wait, did Cranel just…? Did he seriously…? "No. Never. Ask me that ever again and I'm throwing you into a pit of Killer Ants."

"So you _have_ had thoughts about her?!"

"I'm not answering that question."

"That might as well be an answer!"

Yep, time to go to bed, Hachiman. Just lay down, pull your blanket over you, and turn to face the wall. Don't even dignify that idiot's nonsense by giving it a response. He'll see fit to try and twist whatever you say to fit his favor again.

"Ah, home at last!" Halfway through my attempt to defend myself from Cranel's idiocy, the last voice I wanted to hear came bouncing down the stairwell. "Bell-kun, Hachi-kun~! I'm back from work!" Unfortunately, my heart, the traitorous creature that it is, decided that it would be best to skip a beat with every step my kami-sama made down the stairs. Oi, this is no time to get anxious! Become still! If you don't, you'll play right into Cranel's hand! "How are my two favorite boys in the world?"

"Ah, kami-sama!" Just as he did with me, Cranel made sure to greet our master with the enthusiasm of an overeager puppy. "Welcome back! How was work?"

"Oh, well, work was work. It was really slow at Hephaestus's so my shift just seemed to drag on and on…." My kami-sama's answer was interrupted by a moment of silence that preceded a soft moan. Almost immediately, the mental image of her arching her back in a cat-like stretch popped into my traitorous head and all of a sudden, I found myself fighting against the need to turn to face my familia. "I'm just really happy to be home."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help you relax?"

"Ah, that's my Bell-kun~! Always so considerate, but don't worry. Just being able to spend some quiet time with my children will be more than enough." You say that now, but I can tell by the tone in your voice that you're actually just hoping that he'd suggest something rather than you tell him. I've experienced the same thing from Komachi to ever be fooled by it ever again.

"Hehe, really? Well, if you need anything just let me know and I'll be more than happy to provide. It's the least you deserve for all you've done for us!"

…Welp, it looks like that part of Cranel still hasn't changed at all.

* * *

**Interlude 8 | For the First Time, Bell Cranel Can Save Someone Else.**

…

"Hey, Hachiman…" For whatever reason, my dark-haired familia's entire body stiffened up the moment I said his name and, almost immediately, a spike of panic ran through my body. "Oh, m-my bad! Did I scare you just then or something?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm just not fully awake yet." Hachiman yawned to himself silently after he said that and this time, I couldn't help but find his sleepiness strangely fitting. Typically, whenever he'd show signs of being tired this early in the morning, I'd wonder about if he got enough sleep last night, but considering what he had to do last night, I could only nod to myself acceptingly. "What is it, Cranel?"

"Oh, I was just wondering about what you wanted to do with Lili-chan's whole—" Before I could finish my question, a yell rang out from somewhere around me and reminded me that, even though the street we were on wasn't busy at all, we were still out in public. "—uh, problem. I just sorta realized that we didn't really get a chance to talk about it last night."

My familia blinked at me and stared at me for a moment, which made me want to smile. Hachiman was a generally thoughtful person, so seeing him take time to come up with an answer could only mean—

"—Are you seriously already thinking about another girl, Cranel?" Eh? "Flova probably slaved away in the kitchen to make you that lunch and _this_ is how you repay her?" Wait, what?! That's not what we're— "Trust me, girls don't like it when you have other girls on your mind in general, much less right after they do something nice for you." S-Seriously! Can we please get back on— "Keep that up and you'll be kissing those boxed lunches of yours goodbye."

…

"W-Wait, really?" Crap, I wouldn't want Syr-chan getting mad at me. I gotta find a way to— "Hey, that's not what we were talking about here! Can we please get back on topic?"

"Hm? Not up for the usual routine?" He smirked at me as he said, which made me frown, which only made him snort and push off the wall he had been leaning on. "Well, I'll take that as a 'no'."

I closed my eyes and let out a groan. "Please just answer the question…."

"Your question?" Wait, were you even listening to me?! "Oh, right, you wanted to know if we were going to help Arde…." The Far Eastern boy turned his head downwards and got into a thinking position, crossing both his arms over his chest. He stayed like that for a moment or two before turning back up to look at me. "First off, how did your search go last night? I think mine turned up enough information to make a decision, but I want to make sure everything has been accounted for."

"Oh, right!" Suddenly, I felt like slapping myself in the head. Somehow, the fact that I had spent hours going from tavern to tavern looking for anyone who had information on the Soma Familia had completely slipped my mind. I ended up so frustrated too! How in the world could I have possibly forgotten? "To be honest, I don't really think it went so well."

"Hm?" I couldn't help but smile a little and scratch at the back of my head when I saw Hachiman raise a brow at my answer. "Was no one willing to talk to you or something?"

"N-No, it wasn't that…." Struggling to find the words to best describe what I was trying to say, I frowned. "There were people willing to answer my questions when I asked, it's just that I felt like I kept getting the same answer no matter who I talked to?"

When those last words left my mouth, yesterday's frustration came flooding all back to me. It seemed like no matter where I went or who I talked to, the only thing I could get out of anyone was that Soma makes wine so good that the pure stuff could get a person's soul drunk, but that didn't really explain why Eina-san seemed so cautious of them. It just meant that the familia made good wine, didn't it? If that was all, then why did Lili-chan have such bad things to say about them? Could she really just be—

"Tell me, Cranel." My focus was forced back onto my familia when he suddenly said my name. "Did any of them say something about their wine being so strong that it could get your soul drunk?"

"Eh, how'd you know?!" Were you reading my mind?!

My dark-haired familia snorted before answering. "Because that's exactly what I was told last night when I asked, but do you want to know what that tells me?" Excitement spiked through me as I nodded my head in response. "It means that the pure version of Soma's wine is so good that it can get people addicted to the stuff and this is really just a hunch, but if the Familia's members are acting all desperate for valis like Tulle said, then I think that's the reason why."

"So, basically, what you're saying is that the reason the Soma Familia members are acting all strange is because they're addicted to their kami-sama's wine?"

My familia nodded. "Although, I really don't have any hard evidence to prove that theory. Still, I think it's the most plausible explanation as of the moment."

Hachiman's response changed the reason for my frown. What he was saying made sense, but if that could really be the case…. "Wait, but that doesn't explain why they'd need the valis in the first place. If their kami-sama is the one making the wine, shouldn't they be able to get as much of it as they want?"

"Hmph, in a perfect world maybe." Huh? Hachiman, what's wrong? Why are you smiling at me like that all of a sudden when you just said something so dismissive—? Wait, did I say something good there?! "Here's a quick lesson in economics, Cranel." Oh, wait, he's getting all serious again! "If people are desperate to get something, that more often than not means that there's not enough of it to go around and when that happens, the price to acquire that something naturally goes up." As my familia spoke, he acted out what he was saying with his hands, starting out with both hands at the same level to start with before then lowering one and raising the other. "Now, considering that the pure version of Soma's wine is talked about like it's some sort of legendary item, it's probably safe to assume that a jug of it would sell for quite a bit, but if that's the case, then how come the familia's members all still so desperate for money?"

Hachiman suddenly stopped talking after that question. Having gone through this same routine with him plenty of times before, I knew that he was waiting for me to answer. A surge of panic ran through me as I lowered as I hurriedly began trying to scrape a good response together.

Now, because I was so used to him doing this, I knew that it didn't matter to him if what I said was right or wrong, but I also knew that he was probably expecting me to be wrong and I couldn't just let him be right! A hero couldn't just let himself perform as expected! He always had to exceed expectations!

Hm, what could make something like wine really hard to sell…? "Ah, maybe it's because the wine is really hard to make? Like, it's really expensive or something?"

"So, you're saying that it might be because the pure wine costs so much money to create that they can't make a profit on it?" I nodded tentatively. "Good answer, but you're forgetting that the Soma Familia are the ones controlling the price of the wine, meaning that if it costs them so much valis to make, they could easily sell it for a price so absurdly high that it makes them a profit regardless. And knowing Orario, I'm sure that there's someone out there so absurdly rich that they could afford to pay for it, which tells me that they're either not selling the pure wine at all and hoarding it all for themselves."

I swallowed hard as I listened to Hachiman's explanation, trying to make sense of it all in my head. So, if the members of the Soma Familia really are desperate to get money like Eina-san said, that means they're not selling their pure wine? Not because it's so hard to make, but because they want to keep it all for themselves? And they want to keep it all for themselves because they're addicted to it? But wait, if a lot of them are addicted to it, then wouldn't that mean someone— "Wait, Hachiman, you don't think—?"

"—That someone's using the wine to control the rest of the familia?" My heart fell when I heard how Hachiman said that. "Of course, I think that. Although, I'm surprised that you of all people would jump to that conclusion too, Cranel." He scoffed before flashing me a smirk. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the optimistic one. Hestia-sama's gonna kill me when she finds out."

I had heard what my familia had said in its entirety, but instead, my mind chose to focus on another matter entirely. One of their own familia? How could they do that? A familia might just be a family in name, but you were supposed to treat them like they were! Even if you normally wouldn't get along, even if you have completely different goals, even if they keep more secrets than you can count, even if they make you feel less important by just existing….

Familia are supposed to take care of another! You're supposed to be able to trust them! To try and use them to make money…? That… that's… _**unfor**_—

"—Oi, Cranel, you still in there?" I blinked when I heard my familia's voice call out to me and found that I was looking down towards the ground. Looking up, I found that my familia had gotten closer to me at some point. "Come on, we don't have the time to stand around getting angry at something we can't fix," he lowered his raised hand and nudged his head towards his left as he spoke. "You wanted to help Arde get away from that familia, right?" I nodded. "She's probably waiting for us at Babel Tower right now, we should talk to her about everything."

"Oh, uh…" Guilt began to weigh on my shoulders as I watched Hachiman turn and walk towards the tower. Releasing the grip I had on the straps of my backpack, I shook my head hard and started after him. "R-Right."

As it typically did, silence reigned over the two of us as we walked together and it always was, my mind was swarming with thoughts about what just happened. How could I have let myself get carried away like that? Sure, what was going on with the Soma Familia was awful and horrifying, but this wasn't about them. There was… there was nothing I could do to help them - not right now at the very least. All I could do now was focus on Lili-chan and helping her get out of this situation, and that should've been my only focus. That's what a true hero would focus on. That's what Hachiman focused on—

"Oh and Cranel?" At some point, my eyes fell to the ground once again. Looking back up, I found that my familia was looking back over his shoulder at me. "Um…." His little grey eyes turned away from me for a moment before settling back on me. "Don't be too hard on yourself, alright? It's only natural to be angry."

Suddenly, I found myself stopping, to which the dark-haired boy did the same. He turned towards me and we stared at each for a few moments before a smile forced its way onto my face. After that smile, came a laugh.

My familia blinked and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Ah, it's nothing!" I couldn't help but start scratching at the back of my head. "I just remembered something you said earlier."

"Hm?"

"You know, what you said about how I'm supposed to be the optimistic one?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"I just thought that I could say the same about you."

Hachiman blinked, scoffed, and smiled. "What do you mean? I'm not optimistic at all."

I smiled and laughed back. Nowadays, I wasn't so sure about that.

…

**Chapter End.**

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**A/N:** Hey, this story is up on SpaceBattles. Join the fun and conversations. People are currently arguing about waifus, but that's not all that goes on over there.


	7. Chapter 4: Hikigaya Can't Help (part 1)

**My Daily Life as an Adventurer is More Grindy than I Anticipated, Chapter 4 | Unfortunately, Hikigaya Hachiman Can't Help. (Part 1)**

…

"This is where you two live?" I watched Arde look around the interior of the Abandoned Church and even with her back turned to me, I could tell that there was a bead of sweat going down her forehead. Oi, if you're gonna try and imply that you think that we live in a dump then you might as well come out and say it. The cautiousness in your voice pretty much says it for you, y'know? "It's, uh… uh…."

Rolling my eyes, I let out a sigh as I closed the wooden doors behind me. Can't even come up with a bullshit, fake compliment to make up for your awkwardness, huh? You're not very good at being a house guest, are you, Arde? "We live down in the basement, not up here."

"Oh, well, that's good!" The chienthrope let out an awkward chuckle as she scratched at the back of her head. You do know that you're wearing a hood, right? "I was starting to get really worried there."

This time it was Cranel who let out a chuckle and of course, it was just as awkward. Hm? You're not even going to try and make it seem better than it really is? Wow, Hestia-sama really is going to kill me. It seems that I've corrupted her pure, little bunny rabbit beyond repair.

"You getting second thoughts on accepting our help already, Arde?" Not wanting to be reminded of my familia's lack of wealth any more, I pulled the conversation back to what brought us here in the first place.

"No, that wasn't my intention at all!" The small supporter turned towards me, bowed her head, and shook her head frantically. "I just…" She raised her head - just enough for me to see that her eyes were raised up and off to the side. "I just…."

"It's okay, Lili-chan!" Unsurprisingly, Cranel moved in to relieve the cute girl's worries the moment they appeared. "Hachiman says stuff like that to me and Hestia-sama all of the time!" Said cute girl shot up straight the moment she heard that. Oi, what's with that look for? "I just think that's his way of teasing people."

"'T-Teasing', huh…?" For some reason that I couldn't really place (not really), I felt that as though Arde didn't buy that explanation at all as she glanced over towards me. Smartly, she kept whatever follow up comment that I knew was brewing in the back of her mind to herself.

Tiring of the current subject, I cleared my throat into my fist and made another attempt to steer the conversation back to its original topic. "If the two of you are done, I think it's about time we get down to business."

"R-Right!" "R-Right…." Were the responses I received from my familia and the supporter respectively.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I suddenly felt the urge to sit down, specifically at the end of a long table. Oh, a cup of tea would be nice too now that I think about it.

"So, first things first, I want you to explain what's actually keeping you from leaving your familia." The question had been at the back of my mind ever since the other day, when Arde first explained her situation to me. I had only really kept it to myself because I still wasn't sure if I wanted to help her or not, but since that was no longer holding me back, I figured that there'd be no problem starting the consultation off with it. "I don't ask this to offend you, but since you're a supporter, wouldn't you have an easier time leaving than an adventurer would?"

"H-Hachiman—!" Coming as the surprise of the century (not really), Cranel moved to call me out on the bluntness of my question the moment it left my mouth, but Arde stopped him long before he could finish doing so.

"—No, it's okay, Bell-sama." If the chienthrope was offended by my question, she showed no sign of it. Instead, she frowned, glanced down at the floor, and shook her head. She was sad, but definitely not insulted by it. "I can understand why Hachiman-sama would assume something like that."

In all respects, Cranel was probably right to have tried to call me out like how he did. My question was as insensitive as insensitive got, but that was entirely by design. It may be a bitter pill for Arde to swallow but it was the truth, and if she couldn't even accept that much then I was going to end things right then and there.

"Truth be told, there was a time where I thought that too." Fortunately, it seemed like the chienthrope was already well aware of it. "I tried to run away once before, but seeing as we're here now, you can probably guess as to how that went…."

Frowning, I nodded and from the corner of my eye, I could see Cranel clenching his fists.

"I assume that they didn't bother telling you as to why they forced you back?" This time, it was Arde who nodded. "Any ideas?"

Of course, I had my own theories. Seeing as all of Cranel and I's research pointed towards most of the members being valis-starved, wine addicts, it probably had something to do with that.

After all, any money was better than no money and even if she couldn't pull in as much as an adventurer, just letting her run away would cut that source of income off entirely. As scummy of a mindset as it was, it fully corroborated with the picture I had of them in my head, making it the most likely of explanations. That being said, in a world like this one, I couldn't afford to just assume the most likely scenario, so might as well try and get her to fill in whatever gaps I didn't know were missing.

Who knows? Arde might be the owner of some super secret, super strong skill that her familia wants to take advantage of. Sure, it was unlikely given the fact that she had been forced into the supporter role in the first place, but I'd rather leave no stone unturned.

The chienthrope stared at me silently for a moment, mouth slightly agape, prompting me to open my own. Clearly, there was something on the tip of her tongue that needed to be coaxed out— "There is something, but I'm not really sure if it's the reason or not."

Hm? Just like that? Well, that was easier than I expected it to be.

Of course, the answer she gave wasn't much of an answer at all. Really, the only thing it did was confirm that she was hiding something important from us, but I'm sure that fact wasn't lost to the little chienthrope. She might've reached out to us for help, but that was still a long way from actual trust.

Glancing over at Cranel, I could tell that similar thoughts were running roughshod in his head as well. Not only was my familia frowning, but he had that soft look to his eyes. The one that only showed up when he was worried about someone. That made me sigh as I turned to face Arde.

While the fact that she was actively hiding something from us was worrying, I suppose I should be grateful that she mentioned it at all. A warning was a lot better than what a lot of people would give in her place, after all. Besides, given my estimates as to how long it might take to resolve her problem, the road in front of us was definitely long enough to accomodate.

"Alright, if that's the case," I turned my head back towards Arde as I spoke, "then I think it's best to assume that the reason your familia dragged you back was because they didn't want you leaving without providing compensation."

Arde nodded immediately after I said, but it seemed like there was still someone in the room who needed help digesting the implication.

"'Compensation'?" Unsurprisingly, there was confusion in Cranel's voice when he asked that. "You mean that they only brought you back because they wanted you to pay them?"

"At least, I think that's the reason why." The supporter nodded her head again as she said that. "Truth be told, I've been saving up valis ever since then just for that reason."

"Is that so?" Oh, so you're comfortable with telling us that much then? "Is that the reason why you were stealing from adventurers?"

For the third time, Arde nodded, although she did so much more tentatively than she did before. Well, at least you seem somewhat remorseful for what you did—

"Don't get me wrong, though." Crossing her arms over her chest with extra 'oomph', the chienthrope suddenly seemed to spring to life. "I don't regret what I did at all!"

…Wow, couldn't even let me finish my thought before proving me wrong, huh?

"Ah, uh, Lili-chan…" From the corner of my eye, I could see Cranel reach a tentative hand out towards our client. "You do know that you stole from us too, right?"

Oho~? Is Bell Cranel of all people showing backbone in front of a cute girl? What a twist! Bravo, bravo, o'familia of mine! There may be hope for you yet!

Said supporter startled a bit at the response, a slight pink hue appearing on her cheeks. Surprised you too, huh? "O-Of course, I do! But clearly, you and Hachiman-sama are far different from most adventurers!" Arde raised a fist to her mouth and cleared her throat into it. "I mean, what other adventurers would want to try and help the person who tried to steal from them?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure that they'd have to be pretty dumb…." Despite her question clearly being rhetorical, I answered and made sure to do so in the bluntest way possible, which made the girl pause and turn towards me. What? Did you think that I'd go through this entire process and not remind you of how much of a risk we're taking every step of the way? Pft, you wish. You better feel bad about dragging the both of us into this! Feel bad because I feel bad!

"Hey, you said that you wanted to help Lili-chan as much as I did!"

Turning my head towards my familia, I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Um, you do know that I was talking about just you, right?"

"Wait, you weren't?"

I let out a sigh, shook my head, and turned back towards our new client. I suppose I only have myself to blame for that. "Anyways, so your plan is to try and save up enough valis to buy your own freedom, right?"

"Yeah…." She frowned, her head falling as she spoke. "Although, I'm not completely sure if it's going to work or even how much valis would be enough. I was really just hoping to get so much that, even if they said some ridiculously high number, I'd be able to match it."

That made me frown. Well, that certainly complicates things.

_Stop._

In theory, Arde's plan wasn't a bad one at all. She was stuck in a situation that she had no desire staying in and the people who had the power over her seemed to value valis more than anything else, so why not try and buy your way out? However, the problem didn't lie in if the plan made sense logically or not - the problem was that nothing about it was certain.

For example, say if Arde were to actually acquire enough valis to buy her freedom back. Had an actual price been agreed to beforehand? No? Then, how did you even know if it was enough to begin with?

"Well, Arde's just a supporter!" The short-sighted part of me exclaims in haste. "So, if she can just come up with a number that even they thought was impossible, they'd have to let her go, right?"

Wrong.

An agreement of this fashion was nothing more than an appeal to two people's sense of morality. It didn't matter if it was verbal or there was a contract holding those involved to their word because if one side held more power over the other, the only thing keeping them from turning their back on that deal was their own sense of honor.

Now, pretty much all the information I had about Soma and his familia came from either secondhand sources or outright speculation, but from what I could tell, they didn't seem like the type to care about morality. Hell, I was pretty sure that if Arde actually went to her higher-ups and tried to buy her freedom back, they'd just take her money and throw an even higher price in her face because what could she actually do to stop them?

Go to the Guild? Would they even want to stick their necks out to help a single supporter? Maybe? Cranel and I definitely had an ally in Tulle, but in the end, she was just a career advisor. How much could she actually do for us within the confines of her position? Not nearly enough to try and rely on solely. Still, considering the many advantages that the Soma Familia had over us, it couldn't hurt to at least run a few questions by the half-elf some time in the next few days. Right now, though, it was probably best to rule them out.

So, if the Guild couldn't help, what could we actually do to even the odds in Arde's favor? The Hestia Familia had only started operating at official capacity a little under a couple months ago, meaning that we had virtually zero allies and zero value to our name. Sure, our namesake probably had a few kami friends here in Orario who might be willing to lend a hand, but with the politics involved, how much could they realistically do for us? Any help at all could be seen as a transgression against the Soma Familia and their allies, which meant that they'd be putting their familias at risk for two newbie adventurers and a supporter. I couldn't see many taking that risk - the only caveat being complete idiots like me and Cranel.

On the note of taking risks, if word of us helping Arde got out to the Soma Familia, there was a very good chance that we'd be wiped off the map in less than a week. So, clearly, the power discrepancy didn't exist between just Arde and the rest of her familia. There was no way that we were going to solve via any direct methods, at least not with how things are right now.

So, what indirect methods could we employ?

Having her run away came to mind almost immediately. Of course, the fact that she had tried to do so before and failed wasn't lost to me, but what about leaving Orario entirely? If that proved to be the only choice, would she consider that route? Naturally, I wasn't all too familiar with the world outside of Orario, but I'm sure that with all she's been able to save up, she'd be able to carve out a decent life outside of the city's walls. That, however, would be for naught if there was actually more to that secret she was alluding to earlier.

If whatever it was made her worth the effort in her familia's eyes, they might be willing to go out and hunt her down. That wasn't even taking into account the possibility of them finding out we helped her leave after the fact, which gave them more than enough moral high ground to justify attacking us. Even if it took them a long time to figure it out, we'd need to be much stronger than them for them to not be a major problem.

Tch, I knew that this was going to be far from easy, but this is getting ridiculous….

_Go._

I shook my head and let out a sigh. Well, might as well see if Arde has any ideas. "And if your plan doesn't work? What if they took your valis, laughed in your face, and told you to go get more? What was your plan going to be then?"

"I…" Shadows covered the supporter's eyes as her head fell even further. "I don't know. There's no way that I'd be able to stand up to any of them on my own, so buying my way out was the only way I could think of."

"So, basically, you're just going to give up?" Arde shook as I spoke. "That you're just going to accept your lot in life and become nothing more than their puppet to make valis—?"

"—No, of course I wouldn't!" There wasn't a moment of hesitation in her as her head shot up to face me. In her eyes, in her glare, in her fury, there was a special sort of loathing in her eyes that told me that she was speaking to more than just me. "Even if it doesn't work the first time or the second time or the third - even if it never ends up working and I die trying, I hate living like this!"

Feeling guilty, I smirked. You're passionate, Arde, I'll give you that. Although, that doesn't really get us any closer to a solution—

"You don't have to stand up to them all alone!" Eh, Cranel? What are you yelling about all of a sudden— Oh, wait, you would be the type of guy to get fired up by such a show of genuine emotion, wouldn't you? "I know that things may seem impossible right now, but Hachiman and I are going to make sure you make it through this." My familia suddenly turned to me, his eyes bearing the amount of determination and fire I'd deem necessary to say something so incredibly ridiculous. "Right, Hachiman?"

I rolled my eyes at the question. "Do you seriously think I'd let things progress up to this point if I was ready to give up at the first sign of trouble?"

"See, Hachiman agrees! We'll get you out of this, I promise!"

Oi, that wasn't supposed to be taken as me backing up your bullshit, short-sighted main protagonist take! "Getting excited and saying stuff like that is all well and good, Cranel, but that's not going to do any good if we don't have a way to actually solve her problem first."

"I mean, the only reason we think Lili-chan's plan isn't going to work is because we don't know if her familia will let her go once she gets them the money, right?" I nodded. "Well, what if we just find a way to make them let her go?"

"With what leverage? In terms of strength, it's not we're not any better than Arde when it comes to an actual familia, y'know?"

"Y-Yeah, that's true…." By how he was staring at the ground, I could tell that the ablino had put his brain onto its highest possible setting, which, after a few moments of silence, eventually led to his head shooting up and turning towards Arde suddenly. "Lili-chan, do you know the level of your strongest familia member?"

"Our strongest member?" The supporter like an owl at the question. "I guess that would have to be our captain. I don't really know all of the specifics, but last I've heard, he was a level 2."

"A level 2? That's not too bad, right, Hachiman?" I couldn't help but frown when I saw the look in Cranel's face as he turned to face me. There were too many emotions there for me to place a specific one, but I could tell that he was ramping himself up to say something really I wasn't going to agree with. "I mean, he may still be stronger than us, but he's still right there! If we can get strong enough to be a threat—"

"—Just how long do you think it'll take to even get that far?" Knowing Cranel, I probably shouldn't have been surprised to hear something like that come out of his mouth, but I still couldn't help but feel a little bit exasperated hearing it. To that end, I had to nip it in the bud as quickly as possible. "We might be doing better than the average adventurers, but it'd still probably take us months to get anywhere close."

"Still, that just means you think it's possible, right? If we try really hard, there's a chance we can keep up!"

"Yeah, fine, say that we do things your way." Technically, what Cranel was suggesting was something that could be done. "What if the members of Soma Familia learn about what we're doing before we're ready? Even if we end up getting strong enough to take on their strongest member, I'm still sure that they'd be able to wipe out our entire familia with numbers alone. I understand that you want to help Arde, but is that really something you want to risk?"

"Ah, that's true…." Ah, there we go, Cranel. You're finally starting to see logic. No matter what idealistic protagonist ideals you might have flying around in that brain of yours, there's no way that we're going to be able to do this through effort and force of will. We have to do things in a smart way, otherwise— "Still, if we can't even do that much… then how are we going to help her?"

…

"We both came into this knowing that helping her would put us in a lot of danger, didn't we?" Cranel continued on and as if by instinct, my mouth had opened at some point to respond, but instead, I closed it and let him speak. "I know that you're just trying to come up with the best plan possible, but if all we do is talk about how much stronger they are than us, we're never going to get anywhere either."

An all too familiar bitterness appeared in my mouth as I digested Cranel's words. _Stop._

It's not that I couldn't see the sense in what he was suggesting or that I even thought he was in the wrong at all; honestly, there was a part of me that just outright agreed with his sentiment.

If the only thing keeping us from acting was the power difference between the Soma Familia and us being too high, then it only made sense to try and close that gap, right? At the very least, wasn't it better than standing around doing nothing, letting the problem fester and eventually turn into an even worse problem?

Of course, it was! Something was always better than nothing, but the fact of the matter is that Cranel's plan was hardly anything at all. It was the equivalent of three people having a fundamental disagreement with each other and one of them suggesting all they needed to do was talk to one another.

Talk about what? The problem? More often than not, all parties are already aware of it - be it consciously or subconsciously. Solutions? What if the problem is so complex that any attempt to come up with a solution leads nowhere? Doing something may be better than nothing, but if it's done with no actual end or goal, then you might as well be doing nothing and I'd rather not do something like that again—

Oh. So, that's it, huh?

_Go._

"Fine." I turned away from Cranel as that word left my mouth. "But if we're doing this, we're doing it my way."

…

"Wait, what do you mean by 'your way', Hachiman?"

…

Compromise was a fickle thing.

It's one of those concepts that people always flung around and touted, but rarely ever put into action.

That's because true compromise is difficult.

To compromise is to admit that you were wrong in some facet and, no matter how high one might think themselves above such a petty emotional barrier, there's always going to be times where doing so is difficult. Not because someone is actively trying to do so, but because strong emotional responses often trumped logical thinking. Source: me.

In this case, it was familiarity. Embarrassingly enough, I had gotten so wrapped up in the familiar atmosphere, in helping someone, that I ended up fearing that I would fall back onto old trappings. Thankfully, I managed to catch it and stop myself before I committed myself to it fully, but the fact that it got dredged up at all….

Just why did I agree to helping Arde in the first place?

Then again, considering that part of my compromise was turning the chinethrope into an adventurer, the answer to that question was actually pretty obvious.

Goddammit, I blame Yukinoshita for this.

…

In the world of literature (and really any piece of media attempting to tell a story), the art of proper character development was a difficult one to try and explain. That's because, unlike all the other parts of a good story (such as laying out plot structure or developing an interesting setting), there was no real science to any of it.

Sure, someone might be able to explain everything that goes into what makes a character interesting and all of the ways that an author can make the audience attach themselves to them from sheer circumstance, but that much can only get you so far. If the entirety of your character is an ounce of decent personality and a dash of relatability, then congrats! You have all that you need to make a good shell of a person!

Now, this same sentiment could be applied to many riajuu that I know in real life, but the idea rang even more true when it came down to the written word. Interesting characters are a mandatory part of any good story. Technically speaking, a piece of content can still be well-received and enjoyed if it has a ton of flaws, but only if the characters in the story are ones that the audience gives a damn about. The same, however, couldn't be said vice versa.

Human beings, and this very much includes myself, are ironically simple creatures. Be it in real life or on a page/screen, if we see someone we like, then we'll naturally gravitate towards them. However, all this phenomena is an initial attraction and that can only go so far. If the attractive person's gravity draws us in close enough to get a good view of them as a whole and that person turns out to be nothing special, or even detestable, then one might end up feeling cheated and lied to and thus move on as quickly as them came.

In the context of actual people, the act is pretty ironic, but in the context of fictional ones, that just showed the need to artificially inject substance into that initial shell. Hence, the need for proper character development. Why? Because there's nothing more interesting to someone than a fake person that seems like a real person and the one most common experience, the one thing that all people have to do at some point, is change.

It doesn't matter if it's big or small, positive or negative, active or passive; as time passes by and the world around us changes, we change with it. So, since people tend to gravitate towards media with some grounding in reality, it made sense that people liked seeing characters change over time too. In fact, for a not insignificant number of people, it was probably the most important part of the media they consumed.

Why? Because proper character development provided the depth a shell never could - it could sometimes even make up for an awful first impression - but if that's the case, how does one properly develop a character? Well, going back to how I started this monologue, that was actually quite hard to explain.

People in real life don't tend to follow a particular set of rules when they change, most of the time they're simply at the whims of life's randomness, and that gives creators a lot of freedom when it comes to developing their characters. Really, it all depends on what they value when it comes to this subject, but there is one thing that all people agree on when it comes to this sorta thing: to change takes time, especially when it comes to people.

Sure, someone could have an epiphany that leads to great change, but even that would most likely take time to fully rear its head. That's why I was initially hesitant to try to turn Arde into an adventurer.

From all that she's told me, it was clear that Arde's history of social subjugation stretched long before she started her career as a supporter. Someone in my position might see that history as something to rally behind, despite such an existence inherent awfulness. After all, didn't long-term oppression like that breed resentment? And if a strong resentment already existed, then wouldn't it just take one good push to get the ball moving in the right direction?

Sure, but just like a lot of things, reality was much more complicated than that.

As I stated earlier, people don't tend to follow any particular set of rules when it comes to changing. Two people might experience the same event but go down completely separate paths. So, while a person might be subjected to oppression and want to fight back against it, there are others who rather put their head down and do their best to ignore it and live the best lives they can within the confines presented to them.

Arde wasn't either one of those extremes, but despite her desires of freedom, it was clear that she had begun to lean more towards the latter than the prior than she'd be willing to let on. Of course, experience taught me what such treatment could lead to if exposed to it for long enough.

No matter how much you loathe your position in the world and how much you want to reject the very idea, you'll start to wonder if there's truth to it. At this point, the affected could choose to either accept it or continue rejecting it; either way, the idea had already wormed itself into the person's heart and become a large part of their personal identity.

Basically, what I'm trying to say with all this, it was going to take a lot of time and effort to rip that worm out of her.

_Go._

I let out a sigh at the pack of goblins spawning in front of me and turned towards my Chienthrope charge, who had been behind me ever since we entered The Dungeon.

"You've got some sort of weapon on you, right?" Arde nodded before she pulled out a decently sized knife from her cloak, which prompted me to nod back. "Alright, so what are you waiting for?" I raised my arm towards the monsters and started her training. "Go kill them all."

Of course, that effort wasn't going to be mine.

…

To make a long story short, although it's one that's only been playing out for a week now, Arde is terrible at fighting. Not that I had any reason to expect otherwise, but considering that she's been going down into The Dungeon with other adventurers for years, I figured that she'd at least do better than Cranel and I when we initially started.

It's not that the assumption was wrong per se. She clearly picked up a few things but….

"Agh!" The Chienthrope let out a bark of pain as the goblin she was fighting knocked her onto her back.

...her implementation was still far from where it needed to be.

"Oi, Arde!" Crossbow already trained on the goblin, I made my intentions known to the downed girl. "I'm giving you until the count of—!"

"—I can handle it!" As the person overseeing Arde's development as an adventurer (and the one who came up with this idea in the first place), I naturally appreciated hearing the intensity in her voice and seeing her do everything in her power to stand back up on her feet, but unfortunately, emotions and intention alone didn't kill monsters. The girl hadn't even managed to sit back up fully and the goblin was already standing over her.

I let out a sigh and pulled the trigger.

"Argh!" As the goblin turned to dust, the Chienthrope laid her head back onto the ground and groaned. "I said I had it!"

Rolling my eyes, I lowered my crossbow and emerged from my hiding spot, which was just the corridor leading into the clearing she was fighting in. Unfortunately, the first few levels of The Dungeon weren't the best when it came to its variety of unique landforms and thus, actual sniping perches were few and far between.

"You can say a lot of things when you're lying on the ground like that." A sense of deja vu hit me as I made my way over to my supine party member. I really didn't know if that's a good thing or a bad— Wait, a minute, of course this is a bad thing! This is awful! How do I keep getting in positions like these? "Next time, don't put yourself in a position where I have to step in to begin with." Now standing over the girl, I bent down and extended my hand out to her. "So, since you're that fired up about it, are you good to keep going?"

The girl glared at my hand for a moment before rolling onto her stomach and attempting to push herself up onto her feet. Well, I guess that answers that.

Knowing myself well enough to do so, I turned away from the struggling girl and focused my attention on the corridor that would take us further down into The Dungeon. Deja vu hit me again as I stared at the opening in the stone. The suddenness of the emotion made me narrow my eyes.

While Arde and I were still only as far into The Dungeon as her skill would allow, about halfway into the second floor, I knew better than to outright dismiss the emotion. There was something about the room that was familiar to me, although what was completely—

"_How… How was that, Hikigaya-san…?"_

"_Well, we're alive…. Although, what was with all those goblins…? Aren't you a little too good at being the bait, Cranel…?"_

"_Hahaha…."_

—Huh? Have Cranel and I been here at some point?

There was decent merit to that answer. We only started leading monsters into ambushes right around when we first reached this floor and it did have all the basic characteristics I'd look for when choosing ambush locations. The decently large, circular room provided enough room to move freely; the two corridors leading in and out kept escape routes for mobs to a minimum; and there were just enough sheer corners for me to stay hidden. I could definitely see the logic if it turned out to be the truth.

All that being said, the specific room or the path Arde and I had taken to get here weren't ringing any bells. Granted, it would've been at least a few weeks to a month ago since a room this early into The Dungeon was relevant, so it was entirely possible that I had just forgotten about it completely.

I frowned at the thought. 'A few weeks to a month ago', huh?

Glancing back at Arde, I found that the girl had managed to get back up to her feet, but her brown eyes were still glued to the ground. Hands on her knees, breathing heavy, and her face twisted into a grimace; it was clear that there was no way we were going to get any further in today. Not that I really had any intention of letting her do so anyways.

"Answer the question, Arde." I made sure to keep my tone flat as I spoke to her. "Do you want to keep going or not?"

"Was me not taking your hand really not enough of an answer for you?" I couldn't help but notice the edge to her voice as she spoke - an edge that was almost immediately dulled by the fact that she had to pause every few words to breathe. I commend you on your attempt to talk back to me, Arde, but you'd be much better served saving that sass for when you don't look like you're about to pass out. "I can keep going."

"Alright." That being said, despite my reservations with the idea, I wasn't here to coddle the girl or be her teacher or any of that. The fact is that it's been a week since her career as an adventurer started. If she seriously feels as though she could keep going when all signs pointed to otherwise, then it was my obligation to make her face the consequences for such a blunder herself. "Catch your breath and we'll try to move further in."

In most professional settings, a characteristic like stubbornness was sure to be frowned upon heavily, but as an adventurer, it was pretty much a necessity if you wanted to get anywhere. Some might describe the required trait to be more akin to determination, but those people would be severely overestimating the lengths that determination actually covered. For example, determination might get a failing student to raise their grades to at least passing, but it wouldn't get them to run through a hail of bullets.

In reality, no reason could ever justify putting your life in jeopardy so consistently, that's why an adventurer needed to be stubborn, but even then, too much of a good thing was a problem in itself. It was fine to be stubborn and prideful when it came to certain things in The Dungeon, but we all had our limits and finding out what they are was a lesson all adventurers had to learn eventually. The most I could do was make sure this one didn't have any fatal consequences.

With that line of thought concluded, my body began to move on its own, subconsciously beginning to perform the other half of my duties as a supervisor (although, I did it plenty back when it was just me and Cranel): picking up any monster crystals up off the ground.

_Sto_— Wait, what in the world am I doing?! I should be using this opportunity to kill time, not do things faster for literally everyone else than me!

"Hey, Hachiman-sama?" I blinked at the sudden calling of my name. Turning towards my caller, I found that she was still doubled over and her gaze was still fixed on the ground, but she at least managed to get a hold of her breathing. "Did you and Cranel-sama ever have this much trouble?"

"Hm?" Well, if I'm remembering correctly, Arde managed to kill four goblins on her own and I know for sure that crystal from the one I killed is at my feet. "What do you mean?"

"When you two first became adventurers, I mean." Yep, there's that one. Now, where are all the others? Ah, all the way over there, huh? "Did you two ever have this much killing monsters?"

"At first? Yeah, we had a lot of trouble when we first started out. I think it took us a week or two to get used to things." Making my way over to the crystal that had caught my eye a moment earlier, I answered Arde plainly and truthfully. "Only the naturally gifted start doing something and find immediate success, and it's not like either of us were brimming with latent potential."

Granted, given my ability to slow/stop my perception of time at command, I probably wasn't in the best position to say that, but that didn't change how awful my first few days doing this were. My skill might've helped me keep up with the speed of battle mentally and the falna on my back might've boosted the natural development of my strength and speed, but all the rest of my physical capabilities remained those of a career high school slacker. The amount of times I ended up falling on my ass because I tripped over my own feet while dodging attacks or swinging at an enemy with way too much force probably rivaled the amount of times Zaimokuza has written something shitty (a lot).

Basically, my first few days as an adventurer sucked. 0/10, would never try again. Haha, sucks to be you, Arde.

"Wait, when did you and Cranel-sama start adventuring, again?"

"Almost two months ago." I leaned down to pick up the second of five crystals. "Why?"

"Wait, you two started two months ago and are already almost on the seventh floor?!"

"Mhm." I hummed back in affirmation and looked around for more crystals. Wait, how'd that one get all the way over there? "What about it?"

"No latent potential, my ass! Don't you understand how fast of a pace that is?!" Shocked yelling? Seriously, Arde? Is that really necessary? "I've worked with adventurers who've been doing this for a year and—

"—haven't gotten that far yet. Don't worry, I'm painfully aware of how fast Cranel and I have been improving." After all, not only did I have Hestia-sama reminding me of how quickly my stats are improving every time I have them updated, but Tulle always gave me and Cranel the same spiel whenever we asked her to clear us to go down a floor. "By the way, since you suddenly have the energy to be yelling like that, does that mean you're good to get moving?"

"Oh, y-yeah!" Turning my head to confirm the Chiennthrope's words, I found that she no longer had her hands on her knees and was standing straight up. "Um, just how far were you planning on going today, Hachiman-sama?"

I shrugged at the question. "However far you feel like going. Remember, I'm not here to make decisions for you."

"R-Right…."

I sighed as I went back to picking up monster crystals. Yeah, this was definitely going to take a while.

* * *

**Interlude 9 | Unfortunately Lefiya Viridis is Relied Upon.**

…

"Ah, um…." My eyes couldn't help but find the ground when my escort turned her head to face me. Although I couldn't see them, I was sure that her eyes held plenty of disdain for me. "I'm sorry again for taking up your time, Ais-sama."

"It's no bother to me, Lefiya." My bodyguard's words lacked all emotion as it always did, but the guilt I harbored in my stomach persisted. How could it not? Surely, she had a litany of ways to better spend her free time than accompanying me on business that she held no stake in. Even if she chose not to verbalize it now, I'm sure that it had crossed her mind at some point. "I volunteered, after all."

I opened my mouth to further verbalize my shame but stopped myself, instead choosing to deepen the frown on my lips. In the end, with the exception of Bete-kun, there was no chance any of my familia would openly state what I was already aware of. They simply were all too kind for such brutal honesty.

For the first time in my time as her student, I found myself cursing Alf-sama. If my status as a hindrance to all those around me had not been clear enough before, my teacher had mandated an escort accompany me to my meeting with Hikigaya-san - an adventurer who was yet to even take his second step towards divinity! With the increasing danger that has hovered around my familia over these past few days, I was not foolhardy or stubborn enough to be blind to my ruler's good intentions, but to have done so openly in front of Ais-sama….

"Lefiya…." The sound of my name caused me to snap my head upwards. When I did so, I found that Ais-sama had stopped, which forced me to do the same.

"Y-Yes, Ais-sama?" I cursed my inability to speak clearly but anxiety had already sunk its claws into my heart. As she was standing in front of me, I couldn't see her face and thus, couldn't even begin to gauge what had given the newly-minted level six adventurer pause. Her eyes faced forwards, but all I could see was the crowds of people walking the same street as us. "Is something the matter?"

That uneasiness only grew when my familia met my response with silence. The last time I had seen my familia act in such a fashion was a few days ago in Rivira, right before we were attacked by that warrior who murdered Dorlia-san. She certainly seemed a lot less stressed then she did then, but that observation didn't do much to dispel my worry—

"How much further to the bookstore?"

…Oh.

…

It was suffice to say that my most recent visit to _Copia Libri_ hadn't ended as I anticipated. Frankly, it turned out to be an unmitigated disaster, although that still didn't seem like an accurate enough descriptor.

What was meant to be a relaxing outing for myself very quickly morphed into a full-scale conflict with not just a Charging Wall, a rare monster notorious amongst adventurers for decimating the unprepared, but also the surprise emergence of the Violas on the surface. The former was more than an adequate enough challenge; the latter pushed not just me but a number of my familia, all of which far stronger than myself, to our limits as well.

That day most certainly wasn't a good day for The Loki Familia.

However, it would be remiss of me to imply that no good resulted from that chaos.

"It's him?" Although I found the questioning nature to Ais-sama's voice a bit perplexing, I couldn't deny my familia's assertion. It certainly was Hachiman Hikigaya— Wait, no, that response was far too perfect!

"U-Um, Ais-sama…." My bodyguard turned her head towards me and blinked much like an owl - a gesture that I had long ago come to understand as her universal sign to continue speaking. "W-Why did you just ask me that just now?"

"Hm?" Relief washed over me when I watched my familia blink at me, remain silent for a moment, and cock her head to the side. Fortunately, it seemed that my thoughts managed to stay where they belonged. "I was wondering if he was the person you were supposed to meet with today."

However, once both my panic and relief subsided, I found myself questioning Ais-sama's response once more. Did Alf-oujo-sama fail to explain who I was meeting with? No, to be so negligent is completely out of my liege's nature! Then, how could it have been possible for Ais-sama to not know we were meeting with Hikigaya-san today?

"A-Ais-sama…" Gulping down my apprehension, I did my best to verbalize my confusion without implying insult to either member of my familia. "…did Alf-sama mention to you who I was meeting with today at any point?"

"She did." Huh? If that's the case, how was it possible for you to have not known we were meeting with him today—? "She said you were meeting with someone named Hachiman Hikigaya and acted as though I had known him, but since he had never told me his actual name I had no way of knowing that it was actually him."

"O-Oh…." I wasn't sure if her explanation quelled my confusion at all or only served to add more on to it, but nonetheless, I decided it best to move on and focus on other things. Or rather, return it to the very reason for our current outing, the raven-haired boy who had curled himself up right beside the entrance of _Copia Libri._

When I had crossed paths with Hachiman Hikigaya last, he had come to _Twilight Manor_ and requested I teach him magic - a request that he could not be swayed from despite my protests. Two weeks had yet passed since and the adventurer I had met then was far different from the one sitting in front of me now.

Although he did retain the all-black ensemble that he had worn during our most recent encounter, several layers had been added onto it since then. The most prominent being the violet garment that he seemed to be using as a form of surcoat, the pink scarf he had wrapped loosely around his neck, and the sheathed sword leaning on his shoulder.

I felt myself frown at the sight. To have undergone such great change in such little time, even though it was just in appearance alone….

"_Then what's actually keeping you from helping me?"_ My body stiffened as the boy's words from that day replayed in my mind. "_Is there an actual reason or is it just because you don't think you can do it? If it's the latter, then trust me, I wouldn't have wasted my time coming here if I thought that you didn't have anything to offer me."_

No, now is not the time to be thinking such thoughts, Lefiya! Hikigaya-san put his trust in you to be an adequate teacher! You cannot allow yourself to betray that trust by allowing such thoughts to hinder your ability. Think of the shame you'd feel if you were to. If you cannot be confident in yourself, be confident in the you that Hikigaya-san is so senselessly confident in!

Collecting all the determination I could muster, I used it to push myself into approaching the sitting boy. However, I was forced into stopping when a detail I hadn't noticed earlier caught my eye.

The boy was asleep!

Somehow, as I was gathering up the willpower necessary to approach him, I failed to see the fact that the only force keeping his head upright was the wall behind him. Moreso, I missed how his eyes had never once opened since my arrival! Ah, how could I have been so grossly and utterly complacent! Thank goodness I noticed! Otherwise, I would have walked right up to him and awoken him rudely.

Wait, if he had managed to fall asleep waiting for our arrival, did that not reflect poorly on us and our punctuality? I had told him to come here at close to sundown in my letter and although the sky was now beginning to stain orange, maybe I should've specified—

"Is something the matter, Lefiya?"

The sudden question nearly caused me to let out a scream, but somehow, I managed to keep it from escaping fully. Instead, all that was let out was a short, high-pitched squeak. Ah, that's almost nearly as bad!

Almost as if in response to my mental cry of frustration, Hikigaya-san's brows furrowed and his eyelids pressed together with force for a moment before opening slowly. The act revealed the tiny, grey dots that were his eyes. However, and I could only attribute this to how he had shed himself of sleep just a moment prior, they lacked their usual sharpness. Even then, they only stayed dull and forward facing for an instant - for an instant later, they snapped in my direction.

I couldn't help but take a step backwards. To be able to rouse himself from drowsiness so easily…. Has he truly only been an adventurer for a month's time?

"You're awake." As she was standing right next to me before I stepped backwards, I could now see a portion of Ais-sama's face simply by glancing to my left. Of course, the sword princess remained unfazed.

Hikigaya-san responded by leveling a glare at my familia, although it lacked much of its initial intensity. Experience told me to expect words laced with venom and contempt, as I knew even the most even of keeled people did not enjoy being woken so suddenly, but in the end, the boy offered no such insults. He failed to mock at all in all actuality.

Instead, the level one adventurer chose to continue glaring at the freshly-minted level 6 and despite how weapons were yet to be produced, I felt as though I were watching the two do battle with their eyes alone. Brilliant gold clashed against lifeless grey as the two did silent battle with one another. As always, I could only stand to the wayside and watch as it played out, but I was engrossed all the same.

…

Hold a moment, didn't a boy and girl staring at each other like this have an alternative meaning…?

Suddenly, the girl broke their stalemate by tilting her head in a quizzical fashion. The boy responded with a snort and my attention was immediately grabbed by the smirk that had appeared on his face. I recognized it immediately as being similar to the one that I bore witness to when I agreed to teach him magic, but with a somewhat off-putting sharp quality that hadn't been present before.

"And you're here." Using his sheathed weapon like a cane, the boy used it to pull himself up to his feet. My jaw threatened to dislocate itself when he found it appropriate to yawn into his hand before turning and addressing Ais-sama. "What? You get bored of being the scariest thing in the Dungeon, Wallenstein?"

Although they hadn't been directed towards me, I felt myself be taken aback by his words all the same. Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess, one of the strongest adventurers in all of Orario, and the boy spoke to her so closely. Moreso, he did so with such ease! Just who in the world did I agree to teach magic to?!

"'Scariest thing in the Dungeon'?" Ais-sama tilted her head as she repeated his insult back to him with what seemed to be genuine confusion. "My apologies but can I ask you what do you mean by that? Am I truly that frightening?"

In response to such a genuine lack of understanding, Hikigaya-san blinked and stared at my familia for a moment's time before breathing in deeply and letting out a sigh.

"Don't worry about it, Wallenstein." The boy turned his head to face me, doing so in such sudden fashion that I couldn't help but be startled slightly. "Seriously though, what is she doing here, Viridis? I figured that teacher of yours would be too paranoid to let you come here without a bodyguard, but isn't sending the Sword Princess a little extreme?"

"U-Um…." Both Ais-sama and Hikigaya-san were now looking my way and in response to suddenly becoming the conversation's focus, I found myself being betrayed by my voice. No, steel yourself, Lefiya! You cannot allow yourself to falter to something so mundane! Not when you're in the company of these two! How will either come to rely on you if that much is enough to shake you?

Closing my eyes, I breathed in deep to gather up all of my resolve, closed my eyes, and bowed. "My apologies for how this all may seem to you, Hikigaya-san. I might believe that you mean me no harm, but Alf-sama isn't one to give her trust out to those outside our familia so willingly. That and due to many recent events to befall our familia, she's been ever more vigilant of possible dangers, so she insisted that I not come here without protection. As to why Ais-sama is here, she just so happened to overhear and volunteered herself."

Upon reopening my eyes, I found the boy staring at me with a brow raised and crossed arms. He seemed skeptical of my explanation to say the very least. Ah, but I answered all of the questions he could possibly have truthfully! What could he possibly be so skeptical about— "You know, instead of saying all that, you could've just told me that your teacher doesn't like me."

Shock and insult forced me into recoiling backwards. The notion itself was preposterous! To imply that someone of Alf-sama's station, the princess of my people, would go through such lengths out of spite was utter insanity! And narcissistic as well!

"T-That wasn't my intent at all, Hikigaya-san!" Despite the righteousness that burned like a fire within me, I found myself stumbling as I mounted my defense. "I don't know what events transpired between the two of you during your first meeting, but I assure you that Alf-sama would never stoop to such petty sleights."

The boy simply let out a hum in response, which only served to stoke the fires within me further. I found myself beginning to lift my foot in an attempt to stamp it, but killed the motion before it ever truly began. Such a response would surrender the point to him and for the sake of my people's future ruler, I couldn't allow— "Alright, whatever you say."

Huh? "H-Huh?"

"Hm?" The boy's eyes widened and within them, I saw genuine confusion in response to my confusion. "Something wrong, Viridis?"

I didn't know what I expected the human boy to say, for I didn't know him well enough to try and predict any of his actions, but outright submission left me completely and utterly baffled. While I spoke with sincerity, did he merely speak in jest? Did I misread his intent so utterly? How utterly shameful!

The feeling of shame became so powerful within me that words began to spill from my mouth before I could fully comprehend their weight.

"M-My apologies, Hikigaya-san." Shame ran rampant within me despite my apology, the cause of which being my own presumptuousness. I found myself bowing my head once again in an attempt to alleviate it, but found no such relief. Fortunately, when I raised myself to face him once more, the persisting confusion on his face told me that I could make my next words an attempt to move on from the topic entirely. "I simply didn't anticipate you conceding your point so readily, that is all."

"Eh?" The boy raised his brow at my response before his eyes suddenly widened, as if he just now realized something, and turned his head to his left - his expression marred with a frown. "Oh, I guess you would have that kind of impression of me, huh?"

It was now my turn to be fraught with confusion. 'Impression'? Did my explanation only serve to make him believe that my opinion of him was unfavorable?!

Before my confidence could spiral any further downwards, the back-and-forth between Hikigaya-san and I was put to a fortunate end by Ais-sama, who failed to match the flow of the conversation as she always did and once again, I was forced to become subject to a strange dynamic that upset me as much as it perplexed me.

"Excuse me, Hikigaya, would it be alright if I asked you a question?"

Due to how she lacked the grace and frills expected of a lady, an outsider might try and equate her social prowess as something akin to how one approached battle. It was a fair assertion to make on a general basis, as battle tended to draw the most authentic parts of a person out to the surface. However, when such a claim was made about Ais-sama, it only told me that the person making it had never truly seen her in battle.

"Cranel's doing fine, Wallenstien."

"…You knew that I was going to ask about him?"

When Ais-sama was consumed in the throes of battle, she was the very picture of a hero! She faced every obstacle head on and without much forethought. To most adventurers, such actions would be a death sentence, but it seemed mere child's play to her. No matter how dire the scenario, she'd remain unfazed and search for ways to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Every occasion might not have rewarded her efforts, but despite those failures, she never withered and maintained the same mindset - a feat that was almost as awe-inspiring to me as any impossible victory she's achieved.

"I mean, last I checked, we've only ever talked twice and he was the only reason why you ever bothered to talk to me both times." The boy shrugged as he explained. "So, call it me taking a wild guess."

And then, there was the Ais-sama who existed only within conversation.

"Ah, that makes sense then."

To the outside observer, the similarities between the two parts of her personality seemed evident.

"Still, what even happened between the two of you anyways?"

"Hm?" Both sides were direct and to the point, never wasting a moment or movement in pursuit of her goal. "He hasn't told you?"

"Wait, that's actually surprising to you?" Sometimes doing so at the detriment of her own person. "I thought that I've made this perfectly clear by now, Wallenstein. Just because we're in the same familia, doesn't mean that we know everything about each other. All I know is that one afternoon, he happened across a grimoire that taught him magic and he ended up sneaking out to the Dungeon that same night to test it out like an idiot. The next morning, he came back home red in the face and mumbling something about you under his breath. Our kami-sama tried to get him to elaborate, but he wouldn't budge."

"Oh." And even if she happens to stumble along the way, the girl the Gods dubbed as the Sword Princess pushed forward like she always did. "My apologies then."

"…You do know that you don't have to apologize so seriously, right? It's really not that big of a deal."

"It's fine." Pushing aside every obstacle in her path with ease. "I felt the need to apologize to you anyways."

"Why?"

"I don't know?" Remaining forever the mystery to those who watched her. "I just felt the need to."

"…Look, if you're apologizing for what I think you are, it's seriously fine." However… "It's not like I really care, so you really don't have anything to apologize for." …outside of battle, there were moments where she's proven herself truly fallible. "Besides, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"What do you mean?"

Moments where all calm slipped from her person and she stopped being the Sword Princess, the savior of countless battles, the person who I looked up to and aspired to be like the most - moments where she was simply Ais Wallenstein.

"I mean, I called you the 'scariest thing in the Dungeon' for a reason, y'know?" A girl who was only a year older than myself and was capable of all the emotions I was. "Don't ever tell Cranel I told you this, but whatever happened between you two, it really freaked him out. The only other time I've seen him that bad was when you exploded that minotaur all over him—"

Before Hikigaya-san could finish, he and the ill-meaning smirk that now scarred his features were interrupted by Ais-sama sending a soft punch into his arm that, at the lack of speed or power that it was thrown with, was clearly never meant to harm him in any way. However—

"—Ow! Why in the world would you do that? That really hurt! Did you forget that you're a level six, woman?!"

Cheeks puffed out and tinged with a slight red, Ais-sama let out a huff and turned away from the boy who had somehow managed to burrow so deeply under her skin with his comments that he managed to strike a nerve.

In turn, said boy grumbled curses under her breath and did the same, rubbing the spot on his arm in which she had assaulted as he did so.

I couldn't help but frown at the sight.

…

"Oi, Viridis, you sure that we're allowed to be doing this here?" Hearing Hikigaya-san call out to me, I turned to face the boy who requested I teach him magic. His body faced me, but from how his head alternated from side to side, it was clear that his attention lay solely with our current surroundings. "I figured that Loki's reach was long and all, but I didn't expect it to extend out to atop the walls."

Paired with a nod, I allowed a hum to be my initial answer. "Before I contacted you a few days ago, I had initially desired to teach you within Twilight Manor, but upon consulting Alf-sama about the viability of the idea, she informed me that you'd find such a location disagreeable. So, I went on to draft an entire list of possible places to conduct our lessons and presented it to Alf-sama, and she found here to be the most suitable."

"…That didn't really answer my question, though?" Hm? "Although, I probably should've specified from the start, so I guess that's my bad."

Finding that my eyes had traveled towards the floor at some point, I returned them to my conversation partner and found that he had changed positions while I was unaware.

No longer standing in front of me, he found it fit to use one of the many parapets around us as a temporary roost, leaning his backside onto one of the numerous open spaces that existed between the merlons.

Arms crossed over his chest, the raven-haired boy turned his eyes away from me. "I was actually wondering if we needed some sort of clearance to be up here. I know that these walls haven't been operational for a while now, but I always figured that there'd be more regulation as to their use than none at all."

"O-Oh, I suppose that's a fair concern to have…." I nodded as I conceded the point to him. Such knowledge was commonfare for the citizens of Orario, but my mind had let slip that Hikigaya-san's features, and how they differed from much of the other humans here in Orario, had always pointed towards the possibility that he was a migrant to this land as well. "Forgive me for prying, Hikigaya-san, but would it be accurate of me to assume that you aren't a native of Orario?"

The boy turned back to me and gave a nod in reply. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"A-Ah, no reason! I was simply curious as to if that was the reason for your ignorance on the matter." I wanted to kick myself for stumbling over my words in such a fashion, but the personal nature of the question and the skepticism in his voice practically forced me into the misstep!

"Mhm." In place of a verbal answer, Hikigaya-san simply hummed and nodded. "I only got here a couple months ago, so sorry if this is supposed to be common knowledge or something."

"T-There's no need for apologies." I nodded as I spoke, now fully understanding where his concern stemmed from. "I was a newcomer to Orario too once, so I understand better than most." Raising a hand up to my mouth, I cleared my fist into it in an attempt to rid myself of the awkwardness that had built up inside me. It failed to do so, but I continued on with explaining nonetheless. "To my knowledge, there are no such restrictions on the walls. As long as we leave them without doing damage to them, I believe we should face no issues from the Guild for being here."

"You believe?" Hikigaya-san's question was marred by an off-putting skepticism that had a frown threatening my lips; although, in the end, I couldn't begrudge such a sentiment.

"Lefiya is speaking the truth." In the face of my timidity, Ais-sama found no difficulty speaking with confidence. "I've trained here in the past and have faced no issues."

"Hmph, you sure that wasn't because of any other reason?" I found my eyes widening at the boy's brazen choice of response and found myself feeling ridiculous for it. Despite my very recent exposure to such familiarity, it seemed that the idea of someone speaking so closely to Ais-sama had yet to register within my mind fully. "Not only are you the Sword Princess, you're a member of one of the most powerful familia in all Orario. I doubt the Guild would be willing to make the same concessions for a nobody like me."

Ais-sama blinked at the retort and glanced up towards the sky, as if to signal that she was indeed thinking on Hikigaya-san's words deeply, before eventually setting her golden eyes back onto him and nodding. "You just said that you've only lived here in Orario for a couple of months, right? Does that mean you only became an adventurer two months ago as well?"

It was now Hikigaya-san's turn to blink bewilderedly by what was being asked of him. A silent moment passed before he nodded his head in reply.

"And you held your own against a Charging Wall?"

Ais-sama's question caused me to inhale sharply and the muscles in my back to stiffen up dramatically. Such a sharp-witted observation! I should've expected no less of a person of the sword princess's caliber, but I found myself being astonished nonetheless—

—Wait, no, there were other things to be astonished about! Hikigaya-san!

Not only did you choose to do battle with a Charging Wall with equipment that made an insult of the descriptor 'subpar', you chose to do so with less than two months of battle experience?! Such blatant idiocy, such reckless carelessness, such brazen foolhardiness!

"…I mean, if your definition of 'holding my own' is distracting the thing and getting my chest caved in as a result, then I guess you'd have a point." My eyes widened at his choice of response. "Look, Viridis was the one who killed it and should get the credit for it - all I did was pester it long enough for her to do so."

"But you still played a part in killing it, didn't you?" Of course, Ais-sama pushed forward with her praise. "That is more than most can say."

"Alright, whatever, think you want." A sigh escaped the boy as he shook his head. "I don't know why I ever thought I could get you of all people to think sensibly about something." Ais-sama frowned at that blatant insult, but before she could respond, Hikigaya-san's attention suddenly turned in my direction. "Oi Viridis, you mind if we get started on this lesson? Unlike the two of you, I don't have all afternoon to spend up here."

Once again, having fallen into and become fully immersed into the inescapable tide that was a conversation between Ais-sama and Hikigaya-san, I found myself being caught off-guard when I suddenly found myself neck-deep in its clutches and dragged into open water.

So much so, that my response escaped me as an unfortunate stammer, "O-Oh, of course!" If that weren't enough, I found myself bowing my head before I could fully realize my own actions. "My apologies, Hikigaya-san, I had never even considered the fact that you might have other matters to attend after this."

I cursed myself for the submissive nature of my answer. Did he not bring you here to be a teacher, Lefiya? Alf-sama would never allow me to treat my studies as something to get over and done with! You must be more assertive if this is going to work!

"Hm?" Despite the intensity of my own internal ramblings, I found myself unable to put my thoughts to action and in response to my silence, the source of all my frustrations let out a sigh. "Don't worry too much about it, we'll be fine as long as we finish up before the Guild closes."

Unfortunately, due to the nature of my plight, his concessions didn't lift my spirits at all.

…

When Hikigaya-san first requested that I be his magic teacher, I'm ashamed to admit that all I felt in that moment was indecision.

Outside all of the implications that such an agreement between two adventurers not of the same Familia entailed, there shouldn't have been any doubt in my mind that I could accomplish such a task. Not only did I hail from a land in possession of the chief-most knowledge of the subject, but even amongst an entire population of the naturally gifted, I was blessed with even more than that. Yet, despite all of the details that would deem me tailor-made for such a role, such a distinction still felt ill-fitting to say the least.

Simply put, I made the same mistake that I always had.

However, despite my initial protests, Hikigaya-san persisted and forced me to face my indecision. Confoundingly enough, he even allowed me the option of declining, but only if I did so with conviction and under that kind of pressure, I found a decision becoming clearer and clearer to me. Now, it was my obligation to do right by it.

The first step of doing so involved gathering all of the information I had about learning magic. Elves were born with a natural propensity for magic that was bolstered by a God's blessing, but not wholly dependent on it. Humans weren't as fortunate in that regard. If they didn't possess a blessing from the divine, it would be an impossible task.

Hikigaya-san did at least have that much, but that still didn't guarantee that he'd have the ability to develop magic. Some humans simply proved to be incompatible with the medium, even if they were adventurers, but that would only make itself known after a long period of time.

So, without that knowledge, that only left us to continue on with the possibility of failure hovering over our heads.

"So, what you're saying is that the only way to learn magic is to improve my magic stat and hope I end up learning a spell after a while?" Hikigaya-san raised a brow as he summarized all that I just told him. It made me feel as though I should lower my head in shame. "And there's even a chance that I won't be able to learn magic at all?"

"Y-Yes." I nodded my head. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be taking the information all too negatively. "Although, I do know of ways to quicken the process along. You said that a familia of yours was able to learn a spell through the use of a grimoire, correct?"

"Mhm." Nodding his head, a smirk found its way on to his lips. "What about it?"

"May I know how your familia happened to come upon it?" Oh, wait, didn't those words imply a sleight? "N-Not to imply that it'd be impossible for your familia to have obtained such an item through legitimate means, I just—"

The raven-haired boy simply shrugged. "It's fine, Viridis. I'm perfectly aware of how poor my familia is."

"N-N-No! That wasn't my intention at all—"

A chuckle caused me to stop in my tracks and a feeling of betrayal to run through me. Was I simply being teased?! "Cranel wasn't the one who found it, a friend of his found it and lent it to him thinking that it was just a normal book. Apparently, someone had left it at their workplace one day and no one ever came back to get it."

"Someone just left an item as valuable as a grimoire lying around?" I couldn't help but respond to the implication with some measure of outrage. In most instances, a grimoire could run for hundreds of millions of valis! How could one be so completely and utterly irresponsible! "My apologies, Hikigaya-san, but doesn't such a scenario seem unlikely to you?"

In response to my query, the boy once again shrugged. "Sure, the thought crossed my mind, but all of the other employees basically told me the same thing when I asked them about it, so I just figured that it'd be better to not dig too deep into things."

"But what of the original owner?" Knowing the true value of a grimoire all too well and just how coveted they are, I felt practically honor-bound to inform Hikigaya-san of the trouble his familia might've gotten themselves into. "Surely someone with the ability to procure such an item wouldn't just let such a sleight loss go so easily."

"Mhm." The boy hummed back in response to my question and although he had done so in his usual subdued manner, I sensed a slight edge to it. Although, I couldn't quite place where it was pointed. "Seeing as I have no idea how to figure out who the former owner is, that's just gonna have to be a bridge to be crossed when it comes unfortunately."

Ah, that attitude did make a great deal of sense. To my knowledge, the only way that one might be able to determine the original owner of a grimoire was to bring it to Leona, or any other equally as knowledgeable proprietor of magic goods, and see if any news of its dealing crossed their ears at all.

However, even a mage of Leona's caliber would need the actual contents of the grimoire to make any clear and definitive claims of ownership, and since a grimoire erased all its contents entirely after use, the idea of finding its owner at this point was practically nil.

"Well, if that's how you'd prefer to handle the situation then I will trust your judgement, but please don't hesitate in asking for my assistance on the subject if you need it."

"I will help too if needed." Ais-sama chimed in a fashion that nearly made me jump. Ah, how inattentive of me! My familia had spent such a long time sitting in silence that I had forgotten all about her presence somehow!

"Mhm." A smile crossed my lips at the sound of that. "Now, I'm sure you had a reason to bring up grimoires, right, Viridis?"

"Oh, yes, of course!" Get a hold of yourself, Lefiya! To be so easily sucked into a tangent like that is unlike a proper teacher! Stay focused on the task at hand! "Did your familia ever make mention of the process in which he received his magic?"

"'The process'? Well, he basically described it to be a lot like falling asleep and having a dream, but those dreams were being guided along by the words in the book - something about 'actualizing what the word "magic"' meant to him or whatever - and when he woke up, he just had the ability to use a spell."

Hearing an adequate enough description of using a grimoire, I nodded my head and began reciting the information I had soaked up in preparation for this meeting. "That is correct. Grimoire are books enchanted with a very powerful magic - powerful enough to manipulate the very blessings in which our Gods bestow upon us, even if the reader isn't naturally able to develop magic. Are you following so far, Hikigaya-san?"

The boy nodded his head and gave an affirmatory hum in response.

"The process in which a grimoire achieves this task isn't too dissimilar from how one develops magic naturally. In most instances, magic is gained over a long period of time, but the nature of which depends on one's own natural aptitude with the medium and the desires of the person at the time." I took a breath before continuing. "A grimoire accomplishes this same task in far less time, asking a question of the reader to draw them into a state of contemplation. It then forces them into a state of unconsciousness, where the reader will dream and give an image to their thoughts and with the power imbued into the grimoire, those thoughts will manifest themselves into something tangible and controllable when they next awake."

"…I assume that you're explaining all of this because a grimoire is off the table?"

He parsed the meaning for my explanation so quickly! "Y-Yes, due to the ease in which a grimoire accomplishes its task, procuring one is remarkably difficult. So, while using one would be the quickest and easiest route to teach you magic, it would've also cost me hundreds of millions of valis - an amount I could afford but would take me a fair bit of time to do so. To the point where you might develop the ability yourself regardless of my efforts in the meantime."

I could feel my ears perk when I heard the boy let out a quiet grumble. I couldn't parse the words fully but he seemed to be quite discontented. Ah, did I upset him or am I being teased once again?!

"Alright, so what exactly are we here to do then?"

His question caused me to take in a deep, long breath.

Knowing that I couldn't guarantee the success of my solution, his question unknowingly unveiled the pool of panic and trepidation that had been welling up deep within me for the past few days.

That unease forced me into opening my mouth to give my answer, but fortunately, I was able to stop myself. Knowing that any answer I could give him would be warped heavily by my panic, I would only exacerbate the issue.

Instead, I took a deep breath and allowed myself a moment to calm down. Have heart, Lefiya! You may not know the true usefulness of your idea, but if you allow Hikigaya-san to lose faith in it from the start then all of your days of preparation will truly be for naught!

"You see, I understood that a grimoire would be too costly of an investment for me to give to you from the start and so, I've conducted my own research and I believe that I've found a way." The boy met my answer with silence and I took that as the sign to progress forward. "Here in Orario, my people are renowned for our natural affinity to learning magic and while we do indeed tend to develop magic at a rate and pace far superior to other races, it isn't an ability that is gifted to us at birth. Without a falna, the only way an elf would be able to conjure magic is through the learning of select chants and rituals, and even in those instances, such teachings aren't handed out to all. They are reserved for those who are truly willing to commit the time and labor necessary for the task. And at that point, despite the still grand significance it has for my people, magic can be seen as something akin to reading and writing - a skill."

Having finished the most technical part of my explanation, I allowed myself a moment to take a deep breath before continuing, "Just as with all skills, however, time and determination doesn't mean that they will be proficient with magic in the end. Natural aptitude still applies and controls the extent of which one can command it."

"And if an elf really wants to learn how to use magic, despite their lack of aptitude?"

"Ah, that's exactly what I was leading to!" Hearing his understanding of where I desired to take the conversation, I found my words laced with a little more excitement. "From my own experience, there are a rare few elves who find themselves completely unable to use this magic in some capacity, but in those cases, my teachers would make mention of a certain technique that a select few know how to use. Although, truthfully, I'm unsure of its use to you, as you are a human."

I gauged the boy for any sort of reaction to my doubts, but instead, he simply remained stoic and stared at me before shrugging. "I mean, there's no chance that this will end up killing me, right?"

'K-Kill you'?! How in the world did you get the implication that something like that was even possible? Does he believe me someone who would fail to mention the dangers of—

Ah, I see that's what just occurred there.

Doing my best to remain calm in response to the blatant prodding, I nodded, to which he smiled to himself and asked, "Alright, if there's a chance this will work and it won't cost me hundreds of millions of valis, then I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. What do you need me to do?"

Hearing that, I couldn't help but release the breath that had been trapped in my chest, although I knew deep down that proposing the idea would be by far the least strenuous portion of this entire process in a literal sense.

Alright, that was a good job, Lefiya! You've managed to get through the initial explanation without any massive faltering. Now, all you must do is explain the rest of it. That should be fairly easy, right?

Ah, now that I ponder them, those parts of the ritual might prove to be troublesome. Hikigaya-san looks to be of the Far Eastern human colonies and they are said to have a lot of similarities to elves when it comes to their opinion on physical intimacy. It would be very proactive of me to warn him before we begin!

"Hikigaya-san, before we begin, may I know your tolerance level for physical intimacy? It will be crucial for the steps to come."

"…Eh?"

…

When I first began my studies into the field of magic, the first lesson taught to me was that magic extended far beyond just the reciting of words and verses alone. It necessitated that the user have supreme concentration and belief as well, for it involved the channeling of one's mind throughout their entire body.

If one took a lackadaisical approach during the process or if their words were poisoned by timidity, one could easily slip and trigger an Ignis Fatuus and do irreparable damage to themselves and the people around them. However, it was far more likely to find that when your words lacked true conviction, that nothing would come of them at all.

"A-Are you sure that you're comfortable with doing this, Hikigaya-san? Say the word and we can simply refrain from—"

That's why I always found my proficiency with magic to be truly baffling.

"—It's fine." Although those words left his mouth, the boy sitting in front of me had yet to meet my gaze since I explained the ritual to him. Even more so, and practically even more baffling, it seemed that his voice now shared some of my earlier timidity! "If this is the only way you've seen the ritual done, it only makes sense to try and recreate it as faithfully as possible, right?"

"That is correct, yes, but…." As I trailed off, a part of me couldn't help but be taken off-guard by the sudden shift in the boy's attitude. Was this truly the same person who stared down a Charging Wall and stormed into Twilight Manor demanding that I teach him magic with nary a falter? To think that the simple proposition of hand-holding would do this to him! "You are truly sure of your decision?"

"Yeah, I am." Despite his affirmation, he still chose to face away from me as he pulled his hands free from his gloves. "Now, c'mon," he extended his hands out towards me as he spoke, "let's get this over with already."

I nodded and breathed in deeply, preparing myself for what was to come.

Extending my own hands outwards, I aimed to wrap them around Hikigaya-san's larger fingers, but was forced into hesitation upon making initial contact as I felt them twitch away from me ever so slightly.

Worry shot through me at that and forced a glance at my student, who was now looking my way. Although, that only lasted as soon as we crossed eyes.

Once again turning his head away from me, the boy grumbled out an apology. "Sorry, force of habit."

I opened my mouth to confirm that he was truly willing to perform the ritual, but was forced into silence when the boy's hands suddenly lunged forward and captured my own in their grasp. "Let's just hurry and get this over with, alright?"

…

…

…A-Ah, wait, what are you doing, Lefiya?! Have you not prepared yourself for just this moment? You cannot allow yourself to be overwhelmed by just a mere touch, even if it wasn't of your own fruition! Forget your own embarrassment and begin the ritual, if not for your sake but for Hikigaya-san's!

"…Um, Viridis—?"

"—I'm alright." Nodding my head, I turned away from our clasped hands and faced the boy. "My deepest apologies for that lapse of concentration, Hikigaya-san. Shall we move on with the ritual?"

Hikigaya-san blinked at the question before a small smile suddenly crossed his lips and he nodded his head as well.

Breathing in deeply, I did my best to center myself and gave the first set of instructions. "The ritual involves a chant. When I begin, you will feel a sensation well up inside you. Simply do your best to concentrate on it and once I complete chanting, I will ask you a question. Please follow my lead from there. Understood?"

"Hmph, understood."

…

_The Rite of the Voiceless_.

Concentrating all of the magic within me into my hands, I began chanting, "Hear me, all wayward spirits."

For all those who called upon the rite, it was seen as their final opportunity to make a connection with the spirits that defined our people.

"Hear me for I am the instrument of one you cannot."

All of the research I had conducted prior to today told me that it was the farthest thing from a fool-proof solution, but for the truly desperate, I'm sure it seemed as though it were a drink of water in a vast desert.

"I beg of you for they cannot - I beg of you for they seek respite within your infinite graces."

Even if it were simply a mirage, some hope was better than none at all.

"Wrap your arms around them for they seek comfort." And hope was a strong enough force to push even the proudest of an already proud people to open themselves up to another. "Raise them up with your strength for they seek footing."

That's where the Rite obtained its power, but also was its biggest shortcoming.

"Glorious wills, do unto this unfortunate soul what others are blessed with." Not only did the elf performing the ritual need to be open to allowing another to share in the entirety of their very being, it required the same of the other. Be it consciously or subconsciously, if both participants failed to reach a consensus, the Rite would fail and the desperate one would lose the last hope they had left. "And give them a voice to reach you."

Fortunately, we faced no such dire straits in our current dilemma, but regardless, failure still didn't feel like an option to me.

A part of me couldn't help but find that a little amusing, although it was admittedly humor rife with irony.

In good conscience, I couldn't fully speak on Hikigaya-san's resolve towards learning magic with any certainty, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this all meant a lot more to myself than it did to him.

"Hark, all you wayward wills! Through me, give them a voice!"

The world around me went completely dark as I spoke the last verse of the chant.

…

Admitting this brought me a great deal of shame, but as I had only ever seen _The Rite of the Voiceless_ be conducted once before as an outside observer, I wasn't entirely sure of what the ritual itself would entail once it successfully started. Largely due to the fact that the one instance I did bear witness to it - it ended in abject failure.

Truthfully, if not for Hikigaya-san's favor and the help of Riveria-sama in regards to some of the research, the fact that I had one day stumbled into it being conducted as a child would've slipped my mind entirely. It wasn't very helpful at all outside supplying me the verses I needed for the chant, but it was indeed something to build upon.

To that end, I was grateful to my teacher for her assistance on the matter.

According to Riveria-sama, once the step involving the chanting concluded, the two conducting the ritual would see the world around them fade as their minds formed a connection to one another and when this occurred, the next step was for the participant already proficient with magic to ask the other a question - very much in the same vein as a grimoire.

True to my teacher's word, the world did indeed disappear the moment I finished the chant, although it happened much more suddenly than I was led to anticipate. It was almost as if I were treading through a pitch black cavern and my lantern was suddenly snuffed out. Not just visually as well, but all other sensations were snuffed out too.

The natural bustle of Orario below us no longer tickled my ears and no longer could I feel the warmth of Hikigaya-san's hands wrapped around my own. In fact, he too was gone from in front of me and instead, was sitting off a ways in the distance, hands no longer outstretched towards me and now resting in his lap.

Ah, this must be when I ask Hikigaya-san a question! Alright, what should I ask him…?

"Hikigaya-san, can you hear me?" Out of habit, I found myself calling out to the void for the boy. "If you are indeed able to heed my words, please answer me this question: if you could give it a physical shape, what form would magic take in your mind?"

"**What form does magic take in my mind?"**

Suddenly, despite the stillness of his mouth, Hikigaya-san's voice echoed throughout the empty expanse around us, reverberating off its non-existent walls like it were made of pure stone. I couldn't help but flinch at the sensation.

Regardless of my momentary discomfort, I found a growing excitement bleed into the beating of my heart. Silence rang true as I awaited his response with baited breath.

That was when the void began to shift.

Impossibly, the nothingness behind the boy began to churn - to stir and twist like it was some form of viscous liquid. In an almost oxymoronic manner, it didn't do so wildly, instead taking the shape of a silhouette of a sitting figure that looked faint on darkness around us.

Gradually, as the void turned and squirmed, it gained more and more substance before what it was attempting to depict eventually became recognizable.

It was Hikigaya-san, sitting slouched over at what seemed to be a desk. Memories of my days as a student came to mind instantly, but notably, it had far thinner proportions and shiny metal legs.

Just as worthy of my attention, however, was the fact that he was no longer wearing the same garb, instead being replaced with clothing that resembled a suit but with a white trim on the jacket.

My attention remained fixated on the newly created Hikigaya-san as he stared down at the surface of the desk with a scrutinizing gaze. There was some sort of grey stick in his right hand and from where I was sitting, I could only assume that it was some sort of writing apparatus and he was looking down at a piece of paper. Perhaps doing an assignment?

Just as I began to wonder what was going to occur next, the boy began moving his right hand.

"'**What form does magic take in your mind?'" **As his hand moved, his voice began to echo through the space around us once more. "**I don't know."**

"**Before coming to Orario, it was safe to say that magic meant nothing to me."** I found myself being taken aback by the intensity of the assertion. Nothing? Truly nothing? How could one even come to possess such a thought process? "**Not to imply that had always been the case."**

As he continued, another shape began to take form besides the Hikigaya-san sitting at the desk. This time, however, it was visibly much smaller in stature.

"**Just like pretty much every kid, there was a time where I became enraptured with the concept."**

The figure was of a young raven-haired boy wearing some sort of long, white fabric tied around his neck. As it was able to conceal the entirety of his small body under it, it was evident that the boy was using it as some sort of makeshift cloak.

The child himself resembled Hikigaya-san greatly, but notably had far different eyes, despite them being the same shade of grey. The boy I was acquainted with had eyes that were as dull as stone and seemed to scrutinize all that they crossed paths with, but there was no such qualities to this child's eyes. Instead, it was replaced with all that one would expect of a child of that age: life, vigor, and softness.

"**My mind would run wild with made-up spells and incantations, and I would commit them all to memory…"** The child's mouth began to move as an arm shot out under the cloak, revealing what he had deemed worthy of hiding underneath his cloak: a wooden spoon. "…**just so I could cast them at my bedroom mirror later on."**

With an exaggerated flourish, the boy pointed the spoon out in front of him before it then suddenly recoiled upwards, almost as if a powerful explosion had erupted from the utensil's tip.

I smiled at the boy's display of exuberance.

"**When we're young, magic encompasses this idea of there being more than the current reality. Not just the idea of being able to say a few select words and suddenly having the ability to send lightning erupting from my fingertips, but all of the other fantastical ideas that make the world seem more appealing." **Smiling widely, the young boy put his free hand up to his face with his fingers splayed out, mouthed something behind it, and then turned fully around with a flourish of his cape before suddenly disappearing. "**However, just like most kids, I grew up. Eventually realizing that the only times where I'd see magic was inside stories and fairytales, and none of those things were making my reality feel any more appealing."**

I found my frown deepening upon hearing Hikigaya-san's reasoning for his indecision. To deny the existence of something wholly because you lacked exposure to it! At the very least, it seemed consistent with his usual brazen behavior!

It's not that I couldn't sympathize with his feelings. All children must face some sort of disillusionment as they age, but this seemed more like bitterness than it did revelation.

"**Of course, that didn't mean that I swore off consuming content involving magic in their totality. Boredom continued to persist after all, so I really didn't have much of a choice."**

As it did earlier, as he spoke, another form of Hikigaya-san appeared near his writing visage. This time doing so on the side opposite that his child form did.

This version of the boy seemed to be one of early adolescence, lacking the mass that his current form did but still retaining some of the life and energy in his eyes that his younger form possessed.

The adolescent Hikigaya-san sat reclined on the abyssal ground, a book in hand and a disgruntled expression on his face as his eyes scanned its pages.

"**Magic to me became nothing more than something I'd ever only interact with in the realms of fiction. That, however, exposed to me another side of the concept that I had really never considered - how other people used magic in their stories."** Despite the continued dismissive tone in which the boy was addressing magic, I found my ears perking and a prick of excitement stinging my heart at the mention. "**How could a one hundred year-old old man possibly defeat a seasoned warrior who had muscles bigger than his head? With magic! How can an author spice up their blander than bland setting? With magic! How can someone explain a set of events when they go against all basic logic? I'm sure that I don't need to beat this dead horse of a gag for you to understand what I'm getting at."**

If I was physically able, I'm sure I would've found a way to further deepen the frown on my lips.

"**In short, magic has almost always been seen as an easy way for people to overcome their shortcomings and that's what it's been to me ever for the longest time."**

Once he had concluded that thought, the adolescent Hikigaya-san disappeared much in the way his childhood self did.

"**Of course, coming to Orario forced a change in that mindset."**

Upon hearing Hikigaya-san say that, I began to feel my growing frustration wane ever so slightly.

Not only did the statement hint towards a more sensible outlook going forward, it also provided much needed context to his stance that made it much more sensible.

Hikigaya-san was a human, after all. They didn't possess the same natural attunement to the spirits that came naturally to those of my people. Such a stance made sense if he had spent his entire life up until this point in a place where magic was non-existent.

"**All of a sudden, magic existed outside of the confines of a narrative and revealed its true strength to me in a rather abrasive and in my face fashion."** All of a sudden a chill ran down the length of my spine and before I could fully register what was occurring, I was nearly knocked over by a gust of wind that chilled me to the bone. "**A wind so icy and cold that it froze all that it crossed its path…"** The shock having forced my eyes closed, the moment I reopened them I found that my vision remained nearly almost as impaired. However, instead of a pitch black, what blinded me was a raging flurry bright white in color. The only thing visible being a faint silhouette sitting at a desk, sitting off in the distance. "…**A force so powerful and destructive but commanded with such ease that it forced every thought from my mind."**

Quickly, it became clear to me that I was currently sitting within a blizzard.

"**However, even as awe filled at the sight and left me speechless, something did creep into my mind towards the end. A memory that I couldn't fully attach to what I was currently witnessing, but felt familiar all the same, all stemming from the conversation I had with its wielder just before she unleashed it."**

Just as quickly, what had created it became apparent to me as well.

"**In the end, even though magic now existed outside just the stories and it felt as though my opinion on it should've changed, I found that it hadn't changed at all." **I strained and squinted my eyes to see Hikigaya-san, not even using my hand to block the snow from entering my eyes kept them from desiring to seal themselves shut once more. "'**So, what form does magic take in my mind?'"**

For the first time, the silhouette at the desk looked away from what he was writing on and cast his gaze directly out in front of him. Curiosity forced me into following it.

"**It's a shortcut to help people overcome their shortcomings."**

In the distance, another silhouette stood. One that was clearly too short, too frail, and too feminine to belong to Hikigaya-san.

"**Which I assume means that, if I want to learn how to use magic, I'm going to have to state what my biggest short-coming is."**

I did my best to register more information about the silhouette, but before I could do so, I felt a force hit my front with so much force that it knocked me onto my back and forced my eyes shut once more. However, my eyes were able to catch a singular detail about the figure before they were forced closed.

"**In that vein, I'm pretty confident that I have everyone else in the world beat when it comes to being self-aware."**

Whoever they were, they had long hair.

"**Although, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing right now."**

* * *

**Bonus Interlude #9.5 (Bonus) | This Time, Ais Wallenstein is Pulled Away From.**

…

Ah, is something moving?

Glancing down towards the stray cat in my lap, I found that he was indeed beginning to stir. Despite the fact that his unkempt hair kept most of his face covered, I could still see his brow twitch through the cracks in it. Knowing what that most likely pointed to, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, he was far easier to deal with as he slept.

To confirm my suspicions, I turned towards Lefiya. The moment I did so, she turned in her sleep and nearly caused her head to slip off of the makeshift pillow I had made for her out of her bag.

Out of instinct, my hand reached out to try and catch my familia's shoulder to keep her from falling off entirely, but it seemed that her sudden turn was enough to shake the elf from her sleep completely as she jolted awake the instant after.

I watched Lefiya's eyes as they darted from side to side. There was an element of panic and anxiousness in them as she did. Maybe she had a bad dream?

"Are you okay, Lefiya?"

The question sent a visible shock down my familia's spine. Ah, that probably wasn't the best course of action.

Lefiya's head and body snapped to face me. "A-Ah, it's just you, Ais-sama! I must admit you gave me quite a scare right there."

"My apologies." Having not intended to give the elf a scare, I bowed my head in apology as I spoke. "That wasn't my intention at all."

"I-It's fine! Truly, it's fine!" For whatever reason, despite her clear attempts to relieve me of my guilt, it seemed that the elf only became more nervous. Did I manage to make the problem worse somehow? "I was simply taken off-guard is all."

I decided to remain silent and gave a simple nod in response. As my question earlier had caused her to only panic more, it seemed best to give my familia a moment or two to regain her bearings fully.

Oh, right, if Lefiya is awake now, then that should mean that he's awake too.

Turning towards the resting cat in my lap, I found that he was no longer resting at all. Instead, he was looking right up at me with an expression I had never seen him possess before.

Technically speaking, it didn't seem at all different from how he usually looked at me, but there was a clear difference in it that reminded me of his familia, the rabbit who I had put in a very similar situation and had bolted at first sight somewhat.

First off, even though his face showed no clear and visible reactions, I noticed that there was a tension to his expression that wasn't normally present. It was almost as if he was doing his best to keep from making one at all.

The second similarity was in his cheeks. Even though the Sun had begun to set and I was beginning to lose visibility, there was still enough light for me to tell that his face had grown a tinge pinker than usual.

However, for all the similarities they held, there was one difference between the cat and his rabbit-like familia when it came to their respective time in this position. When we locked, the prior didn't immediately bolt a moment after.

Ah, wait, is there something different here?

There was a slit in the middle of the small grey dots that seemed to only glare at me - a difference that compelled me to reach a hand down towards his head and utter the words, "Good cat."

Of course, the stray jumped from my lap before I could make contact.

Ah….

He didn't run away at the very least.

…

**Chapter End.**

* * *

**A/N:** Hey, well, it's certainly been a minute! Sorry for such a huge gap between updates. I had to take a few weeks hiatus during the writing of this chapter because my typing on a keyboard strained my hands and wrists to the point that I developed tendinitis. The fact that my part-time job also means that I work with my hands a ton, I feel as though that didn't help much either. I have since switched over to writing on my phone, which is much less stressful on my joints and ligaments, so I don't think any more breaks are coming any time soon.

Other than that, I just have to explain the 'part 1' up in the title and that's because this chapter is one half of a bigger whole. I have another 10k+ words to write to finish it and I just didn't want to leave y'all in the dark for another few months to weeks, while all the readers on SB get to read them as I finish. Didn't seem fair, so here's the first half.

On that note, go check out the SpaceBattles thread (we're not allowed to post links on this site, so just look up the title of this story once you're there) if you wanna get quicker updates. Seriously, I'll probably post stuff at least once-twice a month.

And on that note, to anyone who reads this story on AO3, sorry if this chapter doesn't come up there anytime soon. I have forgotten my password for my account. I shall figure that out eventually.

See y'all next chapter.


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